[Protein uptake in patients with burns receiving dosed high-calorie tube feeding]

Protein assimilation was studied by means of radionuclide diagnosis methods, using 131I-albumin, in 10 patients with grave burns, fed a high-caloric dosed diet via a gastric tube (HCDGT). Simultaneously, the intestinal absorption was studied by the alpha-xylose test, and some protein metabolism parameters were investigated. The level of protein assimilation in burned patients was found to fluctuate within a wide range and to be most often reduced. A direct relationship was observed between protein assimilation and small intestine absorption. The degree of protein assimilation influenced the time course of protein metabolism: in all the examined patients on HCDGT a positive tendency of the anabolic processes was observed.