Caring for the Technology Dependent Child – A Case Study 

Introduction
Matthew [1] is six years old and is an identical twin.  He and his brother Sam were born prematurely and are the first children of Kay and Robert.  The boys also have a younger sister, Bridget.  Matthew has chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, a rare disorder of impaired gastrointestinal motility that is defined as functional obstruction of the bowel without evidence of mechanical occlusion (Milla, 1996).  Matthew is dependent on parenteral nutrition as his pimary source of nutritional support, combined with gastrostomy feeding to maintain normal growth and development.  Management of chronic pseudo-obstruction is primarily supportive, with the mainstays of care being nutritional support, antibiotic therapy for central venous line infections combined with appropriate developmental intervention.

Keywords
technology dependent,  case management, community