Advances and current topics in the study of metabolism and nutrition of pediatric patients

: Scientific meetings on surgical metabolism and nutrition in pediatric patients have been held 13 times, once a year since 1971 as an evening session of the annual meetings of Japanese Society of Pediatric Surgeons. The initial meeting was established by several pediatric surgeons who were interested in surgical metabolism and nutrition, for the purpose of making progress and development in this particular field. At these meetings, many papers dealing with different problems on transfusion including total parenteral nutrition, on tube feeding nutrition including elemental diet, and on surgical metabolism related to adrenocortical response to surgical stress have been up to date presented and discussed. Problems on total parenteral nutrition in pediatric patients were picked up 3 times, and its indication, nutritional compositions including minerals and vitamins in addition to carbohydrates, amino acids and fat emulsions, managements and complications were discussed. At present, this method has been proved very important, necessary and safe in treating pediatric patients with disorders in the alimentary tract. Elemental diet is known to be more advantageous, namely more physiological and safer, compared with total parenteral nutrition. Incomplete compositions and high osmotic pressure of this nutrients are, however, disadvantageous to be improved in the future.