[Significance of vitamins in parenteral nutrition]

Parenteral nutrition is incomplete without vitamins. Marginal vitamin deficiency under parenteral nutrition is certainly more common than generally recognized. Even marginal and undiscernable vitamin deficiency interferes with healing processes and increases the rate of complications since vitamins are involved in a variety of ways in wound healing, regeneration processes and immune function. If total parenteral nutrition is necessary for longer periods of time, exceeding 5 days, vitamins should be substituted in the recommended doses. The assessment of a marginal vitamin deficiency is difficult to perform and extremely expensive. It is therefore easier, safer and cheaper to substitute vitamins in total parenteral nutrition from the beginning, if preceeding malnutrition is likely. Recommendations for dosage and mode of application are reported and explained.