Aluminum in pediatric parenteral nutrition products: measured versus labeled content

Aluminum is a contaminant in all parenteral nutrition solutions. Manufacturers currently label these products with the maximum aluminum content at the time of expiry, but there are no published data to establish the actual measured concentration of aluminum in parenteral nutrition solution products prior to being compounded in the clinical setting. This investigation assessed quantitative aluminum content of products commonly used in the formulation of parenteral nutrition solutions. The objective of this study is to determine the best products to be used when compounding parenteral nutrition solutions (i.e., those with the least amount of aluminum contamination).

All products available in the United States from all manufacturers used in the production of parenteral nutrition solutions were identified and collected. Three lots were collected for each identified product. Samples were quantitatively analyzed by Mayo Laboratories. These measured concentrations were then compared to the manufacturers' labeled concentration.

Large lot-to-lot and manufacturer-to-manufacturer differences were noted for all products. Measured aluminum concentrations were less than manufacturer-labeled values for all products.

The actual aluminum concentrations of all the parenteral nutrition solutions were significantly less than the aluminum content based on manufacturers' labels. These findings indicate that 1) the manufacturers should label their products with actual aluminum content at the time of product release rather than at the time of expiry, 2) that there are manufacturers whose products provide significantly less aluminum contamination than others, and 3) pharmacists can select products with the lowest amounts of aluminum contamination and reduce the aluminum exposure in their patients.