Total Parenteral Nutrition: the Road to Enteral Atrophy, Leaky Gut Syndrome and Pneumonitis
Bacteria slip between the atrophying enterocytes.
Bacteria enter lymph nodes and then gain access to thoracic duct.
The thoracic duct emtpies into the blood flowing toward the right heart and into the pulmonary circulation.
Atrophic gut cannot generate sufficient amounts of secretory IgA.
The lungs are also compromised and pneumonitis frequently occurs due to constant seeding and lack of IgA.