TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES Managing Nutrition Problems in Transplant Patients

ABSTRACT: Patients who undergo organ transplantation receive immunosuppressive drugs in the posttrans-plant period. All of these drugs influence host metabolic response or alter nutrient intake. One of the most prominent aspects of the posttransplant period is the occurrence of hyperlipidemia, which may require dietary or pharmacologic control. Dietary recommendations for this patient popula-tion include limiting carbohydrate intake, restricting caloric intake to maintain ideal body weight, and maintaining a low cholesterol/saturated fat diet. Transplantation has become an accepted mode of therapy for irreversible failure of different organ sys-tems. In recent years, advances in surgical techniques and critical care medicine and the development of better immunosuppressive protocols have led to signifi