Background: Intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD) is a major complication of chronic intestinal failure. Few data exist about hepatic monitoring of IFALD using the liver stiffness measurement. The aim of this study was to provide a descriptive analysis of IFALD and its prevalence in a tertiary center and to determine the IFALD risk factors and high liver stiffness measurement values using FibroScan.
Methods: Adult patients with chronic intestinal failure treated with home parenteral nutrition and followed in a tertiary center with no underlying liver disease and at least one liver stiffness measurement record were included between January 1, 2007, and June 6, 2023.
Results: Eighty-nine patients were included from this cohort of 145 patients. The prevalence of IFALD was 34%. A total of 14% had a liver stiffness measurement >10 kPa, and 49% had a liver stiffness measurement <5 kPa. In multivariate analysis, IFALD was positively associated with the use of a customized admixture (odds ratio [OR] = 7.04; 95% CI, 1.44-43.64; P = 0.017) and negatively associated with the colon in continuity (OR = 0.25; 95% CI, 0.07-0.87; P = 0.029). No significant association was observed between liver stiffness measurement values and IFALD.
Conclusion: The prevalence of IFALD was low in our study. Absence of the colon and the use of a customized admixture were risk factors for IFALD. Liver stiffness measurement was abnormal in 51% of cases. A long-term follow-up of this cohort will help to assess the prognostic relevance of IFALD and liver stiffness measurement in these patients.
Keywords: IFALD; chronic intestinal failure; parenteral nutrition.
© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.