Serum amino acid concentrations in patients receiving total parenteral nutrition with an amino acid plus dextrose mixture.

The results of monitoring the serum amino acid concentrations during three infusion regimens using a 5:4 mixture of 70% glucose and the synthetic L-amino acid solution, Synthamin 17 (Travasol) are reported. Twelve stabilized patients received continuous total parenteral nutrition (TPN), eight of whom were subsequently placed on a second regimen of cyclical feeding. A separate group of five patients was infused with amino acids, both with and without simultaneous glucose. The serum amino acid concentrations indicated that the supply of valine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, and histidine, and the synthesis of taurine from the infused methionine was suboptimal, particularly if the period of TPN was prolonged. The synthesis of tyrosine from phenylalanine appeared to be inversely proportional to the infusion rate of the TPN mixture, in particular the glucose component, resulting in depressed tyrosine and increased phenylalanine concentrations in serum during continuous iv nutrition. Cyclical infusions, on the other hand, permitted the tyrosine and phenylalanine concentrations to return to normal during the noninfusion stage of the cycle. Amino acid measurements enabled us to design an amino acids additive mixture which normalized the serum concentrations in three long-term home parenteral nutrition patients. As a result of these investigations serum amino acid measurements are used routinely to monitor the efficacy of TPN and accommodate any specific amino acid requirements of individual patients.