Lipid and lipoprotein levels in adults receiving Liposyn II

Lipid and lipoprotein levels were measured in 45 adult patients receiving parenteral nutrition for 10-14 days who were administered 20-50% of their daily total calorie requirement as Liposyn II. The study was an unblinded noncomparative multicenter investigation. Measurements were made on days 1, 3, 7, 10, and 14. Patients gained an average of 1.2 +/- 0.5 kg body wt during the study. No patient had to be removed from the study due to clinically significant adverse effects. Some changes in hematology, blood chemistry, and liver function parameters occurred, but these changes were consistent with alterations typically observed in patients receiving total parenteral nutrition. Total protein levels increased by an average of 0.30 +/- 0.13 g/dl (p less than 0.03). Plasma levels of phospholipid, triglycerides, total free fatty acids, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol and high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were normal or below normal at all times and did not change during the study. Significant increases occurred in total cholesterol (p less than 0.03) and low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (p less than 0.02) that were consistent with the mobilization of tissue cholesterol during intravenous lipid infusions. These increases do not infer any increased risk of coronary heart disease. The ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol was 0.24-0.28 at all times.