Comparison of a neonatal versus general-purpose amino acid formulation in preterm neonates

Twenty preterm infants were randomly assigned to receive either a general-purpose intravenous amino acid solution or a neonatal formula at 1.5 gm/kg/day with 50 nonprotein energy calories for 1 week. Both groups demonstrated similar rates of weight gain and similar liver function test results, but comparison of changes from baseline amino acid values disclosed significant intergroup differences for levels of plasma glycine, taurine, valine, and methionine after 7 days of infusion. Comparison of plasma aminograms of study patients with those of normally growing, enterally fed preterm infants showed that infants who received the neonatal solution had similar amino acid profiles, with the exception of low plasma concentrations of tyrosine and elevated concentrations of threonine. The general-purpose solution, as compared with findings in historic enteral controls, produced low plasma valine, tyrosine, and taurine levels, and elevated levels of glycine and methionine. Advantages with the neonatal amino acid solution include reductions in plasma glycine and methionine levels, plus the provision of taurine. Providing tyrosine remains a problem.