[Experiences with a new fat emulsion in surgical intensive care medicine]

As far as energy availability is concerned, it is advantageous to give lipid emulsions to severely catabolic patients, in comparison to lipid-free TPN. It is important to administer essential fatty acids, especially linoleic and linolenic acid, which play a major part in synthesis of membrane phospholipids and prostaglandin metabolism. Lipid emulsions with linoleic acid content and high linoleic-linolenic ratio might be of great value in posttraumatic situations, where the need for linoleic acid might be increased up to 50 g/day. We have examined the safety of a new lipid emulsion with a linoleic-linolenic acid ratio of 16:1 in 14 severely catabolic surgical ICU patients. As a result, neither liver enzyme elevation nor allergic reactions occurred. The limited elevation of triglycerides under lipid infusion and the rapid fall of these values to normal levels account for the satisfactory utilization of the examined lipid emulsion in critically ill patients.