Parenteral nutrition in hospital pharmacies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore parenteral nutrition (PN) practices in hospital pharmacies of Kuwait and identify potential avenues for quality improvement in this service. Design/methodology/approach – A descriptive, qualitative study about PN practices was conducted from June 2012 to February 2013 in Kuwait. Data were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews with the head total parenteral nutrition (TPN) pharmacists at seven hospitals using a developed questionnaire. The questionnaire obtained information about the PN service at each hospital including the existence of nutritional support teams (NSTs), PN preparation practices, quality controls and guidelines/protocols. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed for content. Findings – Seven hospitals in Kuwait provided PN preparation service through TPN units within hospital pharmacies. Functional NSTs did not exist in any of these hospitals. All TPN units used paper-based standard PN order forms fo...