Clinical Nutrition
Medical and surgical management of the neurological patient
Valeria Dipasquale, Claudio Romano
1Unità Operativa Semplice Dipartimentale di Gastroenterologia Pediatrica e Fibrosi cistica, Dipartimento di Patologia Umana dell’Adulto e dell’Età Evolutiva “G. Barresi”, Università degli Studi di Messina
Children with neurological disability have feeding difficulties gastrointestinal disorders often lead to malnutrition and growth failure. The management should be carried out by a multidisciplinary team and include early nutritional intervention and appropriate treatment of the most frequent gastrointestinal disorders, such as severe chronic constipation and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Treatment options include lifestyle changes, psychological support, pharmacological therapies and, in selected cases, surgical options. The main objectives are the prevention, rather than treatment, of malnutrition, and the achievement of a satisfactory health-related quality of life of patients and their families.