Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
Surg Clin North Am. 2011 Jun;91(3):653-73. doi: 10.1016/j.suc.2011.02.007. Epub 2011 May 4.
Cachexia has plagued clinicians for centuries. Although all cachexia is related to malnutrition, cachexia associated with malignant diseases differs from starvation cachexia in that it is more recalcitrant to nutritional therapy. All cachexia responds to judicious nutritional support; however, cancer cachexia worsens autonomously as the disease advances and cannot be arrested or reversed by any known form of nutrition, hormonal, or pharmacologic therapy. Cachexia must be treated cautiously to avoid overfeeding syndrome, which may result in serious or dangerous complications or death.
恶病质困扰临床医生已有数个世纪。虽然所有恶病质都与营养不良有关，但与恶性疾病相关的恶病质与饥饿性恶病质不同，前者对营养治疗的反应更差。所有恶病质都对合理的营养支持有反应；然而，随着疾病的进展，癌症恶病质会自主恶化，并且任何已知形式的营养、激素或药物治疗都无法阻止或逆转。恶病质的治疗必须谨慎，以避免过度喂养综合征，这可能导致严重或危险的并发症或死亡。
