The number of children requiring parenteral nutrition w ho are successfully maintained at home has risen. Chris Holden reports

Home parenteral nutrition t 1 (HPN) was first introduced in JL A. North America (1) during the 1970s. In the UK an HPN Register was established in 1980, to help to define its role in clinical practice. The collection of this data also helps to audit this form of treatment with respect to quality of life, prognosis, complications, indications for treatment and cost. The number of paediatric patients receiving HPN has gradually increased over the last nine years (Fig 1).