Nutritional Support: Enteral Nutrition Pathway for Children Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Background: Children undergoing a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are at a higher risk for malnutrition, which could be reduced by enteral nutrition (EN) support.

Objectives: This study evaluated the safety and feasibility of implementing an EN pathway for children undergoing HSCT.

Methods: An evidence-based, standardized EN pathway was implemented for children undergoing HSCT. Parenteral nutrition and EN rates were compared among patients pre- and postimplementation, and t tests and chi-square tests were performed.

Findings: A larger proportion of patients received EN and had an increased number of EN days (8.3 versus 5.3 days) postimplementation, which was clinically significant but not statistically significant. Postimplementation, 15 patients required EN and parenteral nutrition. The EN pathway was safe, but had limited feasibility because of the difficulty of placing and maintaining the nasojejunal tube.