The patient was a 77-year-old man with a history of chronic atrial fibrillation who suffered massive intestinal ischaemia with resection of the jejunum, ileum, ascending colon and half of the transverse colon and underwent jejuno-colic anastomosis. After a hospital stay of two months he was sent home with NPD seven days a week, infusing for 10 hours. His usual caregiver was his 72-year-old wife, who had incipient Parkinson's disease. He also had a very involved close family.
NPD was maintained for 11 years, being discontinued following clinical deterioration caused by community-acquired pneumonia. The total duration was 3,940 days. During this period she had 5 catheter-associated infections (infection rate: 1.3 episodes per 1,000 days of NPD) and 1 accidental catheter exit. The catheter needed to be replaced 4 times (catheter half-life: 788 days). He had mild, non-progressive hepatic steatosis since two years after the onset of NPD. He was hospitalised on four occasions due to complications of the technique. His functional status at the start of NPD was that of an active independent life and he became sedentary but autonomous at the end of NPD. During the first eight years of NPD he travelled once or twice a year for a few days' holiday at the beach.