Vanderbilt Center for Human Nutrition

VCHN Patient Care

Patients who require individualized nutrition support are followed as inpatients by the Nutrition Support Team and as outpatients in the Malnutrition Clinic.

Nutrition Support Team

The adult nutrition support team provides consultative services to VUMC patients who receive total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Occasionally patients are sent home from the hospital on TPN or tube feedings. These patients may be followed in the Malnutrition Clinic.

Malnutrition Clinic

The malnutrition clinic provides intensive nutritional care to patients with malabsorption with or without undernutrition. These individuals often suffer from intestinal failure, which may be caused by short bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, malabsorption, fistulas, radiation enteritis, bowel obstruction, and ischemic bowel disease.  Our intestinal rehabilitation program provides a range of care that includes dietary instruction, vitamin and mineral supplementation, nutrition support, and medications to improve intestinal absorption.  On occasion an individual is referred to a surgeon when it is believed that an operation may improve intestinal absorption and quality of life.

Visit our Malnutrition Clinic page for more information.