Parenteral Nutrition with Amino Acid Mixtures

Abstract

Intravenous therapy may be instituted in patients for a number of reasons and in each case in which it is used there will be need for careful appraisal of many factors associated with its commencement and maintenance. There are many practical problems inherent in any regime of intravenous therapy and these become more numerous as the duration of therapy becomes longer. It is intended in this communication to consider some aspects of parenteral nutrition maintained for long periods with high calorie carbohydrate and ethyl alcohol solutions and with solutions of pure synthetic amino acids. The patients used in this study had all undergone extensive gastro-intestinal surgery and the alimentary route for the provision of fluids and nutrients was largely or completely unavailable. Before considering some practical problems associated with this type of long-termin-travenous therapy, however, it may be of benefit to note certain basic principles of the provision of fluids and nutrients by the intravenous route.