[A case report of the difficulty treating an endstage oncologic ENT patient with parenteral nutrition]

The occurrence of cachexia at the end of life of patients suffering from cancer is a common seen problem. Within the last years new definitions, diagnostic criteria and classification systems of cachexia have been developed to improve the clinical practice. Still therapeutic interventions are limited; the role of parenteral nutrition (PN) remains controversial. PN cannot be generally recommended in patients with incurable malignancies, not even in ill-nourished patients with inadequate oral or enteral nutrition due to a changed metabolism. Treating a cachectic endstage patient suffering from head-neck-cancer we were faced with different problems.