Background: Short-bowel syndrome remains the primary cause of intestinal failure (IF) in adult patients. We aim to report the long-term results of medical and surgical rehabilitation in a cohort of patients with type III IF (III-IF) and develop a formula to predict parenteral nutrition (PN) independency. Methods: We used a retrospective analysis of a prospective database for III-IF patients undergoing autologous gastrointestinal reconstruction surgery (AGIRS) from March 2006 to August 2018. Analyzed variables included demographic data, postsurgical intestinal length (PSIL), postsurgical anatomy, teduglutide (TED) treatment, and PN volume reduction. Univariate analysis, Cox regression, logistic regression forward stepwise models, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were done using SPSS v20. Results: AGIRS was performed in 88 patients. The most frequent anatomy at first visit was type 1. Prevailing anatomy after surgery was type 3. Eight patients started TED; 6 achieved freedom from PN. At a mean follow-up time of 1606.1 ± 1190.25 days, freedom from PN survival was achieved in 83%. Variables identified at the logistic regression analysis led to a novel formula to predict intestinal rehabilitation, including PSIL, presence of ileocecal valve, and use of TED as part of postsurgical treatment. Conclusions: AGIRS in this group of patients enabled intestinal length increase and also intestinal anatomy conversion into a more favorable type for intestinal rehabilitation. TED treatment was useful to discontinue PN in patients with classical negative anatomical predictors. The novel predicting formula has an ROC area under the curve = 0.82. Further studies are necessary to validate this formula.

Background Teduglutide, a semisynthetic analogue of glucagon‐like peptide‐2 (sGLP‐2), increases intestinal absorption of fluids and nutrients, reducing the need for parenteral nutrition (PN). This report aims to describe our experience with sGLP‐2 in a cohort of adult patients with short‐bowel syndrome. Methods This is a prospective observational study on adult patients initially evaluated in our specialized intestinal rehabilitation program that received sGLP‐2 from June 2014 to March 2020. Results Autologous gastrointestinal reconstruction surgery (AGIRS) was performed in 108 patients; 68.5% (74 of 108) achieved intestinal sufficiency with standard medical therapy. Seventeen patients were treated with sGLP‐2; 66.5% (8 of 12) received treatment for a mean time of 25.8 weeks (3.4–54.0) and could suspend PN. One patient reinitiated treatment due to renal lithiasis and acute renal failure. Currently, 7 of 12 patients (53.8%) continue without PN for a mean time of 165.6 weeks. Volume, energy, and days of PN were reduced in all patients. No serious adverse events were registered. Four of 7 patients (57.1%) who discontinued PN could also discontinue sGLP‐2. Therefore, the use of sGLP‐2 increased the overall success rate of PN independency after AGIRS to 76% (82 of 108). Conclusion This study confirmed that sGLP‐2 should be considered as part of the standard therapy for postsurgical medical rehabilitation treatment in patients with chronic intestinal failure. We add to the current knowledge that some patients can discontinue both PN and sGLP‐2 in the long term, achieving complete recovery of their quality of life.

Purpose of review Latin America and the Caribbean represent a vast territory, with very different economic and healthcare realities, which result in significant disparities in the management of intestinal failure patients throughout the region. Since 1968, multiple attempts have been done to accomplish a successful intestinal transplant; but it was not until 2004, with the establishment of multidisciplinary programs, that large series with long-term results could be obtained. Currently, three countries (Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil) in the region are actively performing these procedures. Recent findings A total number of 135 intestinal transplants have been performed; 11 attempts before 2004, and 124 after that period, 66 transplants were done in Argentina (42 in children), 40 in Colombia, 15 in Brazil (1 child), 2 in Costa Rica and 1 in México; 76% have been isolated, whereas 2 were done with living donors. Summary Publications are still scarce, and compliance to existing registries remains limited. The challenge for the next years is to develop more ‘comprehensive units’ and extend home parenteral nutrition availability in the rest of the region. Regional cooperation and networking need to be set, in order to achieve regional self-sufficiency and improve long-term results.