Fat kinetics and recommended dietary intake in burns

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the nutritional consequences of injury. This review paper attempts to collate available knowledge concerning the impact of burn injury on fat metabolism, and the effect of manipulated dietary fat intake on burn outcome. Although the interaction is only partially understood at present, several conclusions are evident. Burn patients exhibit alterations in triglyceride, cholesterol, carnitine, fatty acid, lipoprotein and prostaglandin metabolism. Glucose appears to be more effective than fat as an energy source in the nutritional support of seriously burned patients. Conservative administration of fat, particularly linoleic acid, is recommended in view of its immunosuppressive and hyperlipidemic tendencies. Dietary enrichment with eicosapentaenoic acid may likewise prove to be of merit in the diet therapy of burns.