eMedicine Specialties > Gastroenterology > Systemic Disease

Malabsorption: Treatment & Medication

Author: Jan-Michael A Klapproth, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine
Coauthor(s): Vincent W Yang, MD, PhD, R Bruce Logue Professor, Director, Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, Professor of Hematology and Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Aug 14, 2008

Treatment

Medical Care

Two basic principles underlie the management of patients with malabsorption, as follows: (1) the correction of nutritional deficiencies, and (2) when possible, the treatment of causative diseases.

  • Nutritional support
    • Supplementing various minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and vitamins, which may be deficient in malabsorption, is important.
    • Caloric and protein replacement also is essential.
    • Medium-chain triglycerides can be used as fat substitutes because they do not require micelle formation for absorption and their route of transport is portal rather than lymphatic.
    • In severe intestinal disease, such as massive resection and extensive regional enteritis, parenteral nutrition may become necessary.
  • Treatment of causative diseases
    • A gluten-free diet helps treat celiac disease.
    • Similarly, a lactose-free diet helps correct lactose intolerance; supplementing the first bite of milk-containing food products with Lactaid also helps.
    • Protease and lipase supplements are the therapy for pancreatic insufficiency.
    • Antibiotics are the therapy for bacterial overgrowth.
    • Corticosteroids, anti-inflammatory agents, such as mesalamine, and other therapies are used to treat regional enteritis.

More on Malabsorption

Overview: Malabsorption
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Malabsorption
Treatment & Medication: Malabsorption
Follow-up: Malabsorption
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

malabsorption, malabsorption syndrome, defective digestion, defective absorption, digestion abnormality, maldigestion, lactase deficiency, lactose intolerance, celiac disease, celiac sprue, fat malabsorption, protein malabsorption, carbohydrate malabsorption, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, ZES, ZE syndrome, ZE, Crohn disease, Crohn’s disease, Whipple disease, Whipple’s disease

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Jan-Michael A Klapproth, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine
Jan-Michael A Klapproth, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Gastroenterology, American Federation for Medical Research, American Gastroenterological Association, and Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Vincent W Yang, MD, PhD, R Bruce Logue Professor, Director, Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, Professor of Hematology and Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine
Vincent W Yang, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Gastroenterological Association, American Society for Clinical Investigation, and Association of American Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Tushar Patel, MB, ChB, Professor of Medicine, Director of Hepatology, Ohio State University Medical Center
Tushar Patel, MB, ChB is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and American Gastroenterological Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Douglas M Heuman, MD, FACP, Director of Hepatology, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Douglas M Heuman, MD, FACP is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American College of Physicians, and American Gastroenterological Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Alex J Mechaber, MD, FACP, Assistant Dean for Medical Curriculum, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Alex J Mechaber, MD, FACP is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, and Society of General Internal Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Julian Katz, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Department of Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hospital of the Medical College of Pennsylvania
Julian Katz, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Gastroenterology, American College of Physicians, American Gastroenterological Association, American Geriatrics Society, American Medical Association, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, American Society of Law Medicine and Ethics, American Trauma Society, Association of American Medical Colleges, and Physicians for Social Responsibility
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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