Beneficial effect of coinfusing a lipid emulsion on venous patency

The hypothesis that infused fat could prolong venous patency was tested in a paired crossover design. Parenterally fed newborn infants received, for a given level of energy, (60 vs 80 kcal/kg/day), two 6-day isocaloric and isonitrogenous (434 +/- 3.4 mg/kg/day, n = 32) regimens differing only by the fat intake (LF: 1.03 +/- 0.02, HF: 2.78 +/- 0.05 g/kg/day). Paired comparisons of osmolarities within isocaloric (60 or 80 kcal/kg/day) infusions showed that high fat regimens were associated with significantly lower osmolarities. A paired comparison of patency times showed that the drop in osmolarity produced by the high fat regimen at 60 kcal/kg/day led to a significantly longer venous patency time. The comparison of patency times between regimens (LF, 60 kcal/kg/day) and HF, 80 kcal/kg/day) with same osmolarities (702 mOsm/liter) and glucose intakes (11 g/kg/day) documented that the fat emulsion per se had a vascular protective effect. This observation demonstrates that the coinfusion of a lipid emulsion exerts a beneficial effect, whether biochemical or biophysical, on the vascular endothelium of peripheral veins.