Bacterial translocation across the gut wall may be associated with ins
ult to the latter. In this situation, intestinal flora can enter the b
lood stream and lymph nodes and be transported to other organs. Glutam
ine is a nonessential amino acid not presently included in total paren
teral nutrition (TPN) preparations. The use of glutamine-enriched TPN
in the rat has resulted in a significant reduction in bacterial transl
ocation. This study attempted to evaluate the role of glutamine in pre
venting bacterial translocation following hemorrhagic shock in a rat m
odel. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were equally divided into two groups.
The controls were given TPN solution, while the treated group had glut
amine instead of the standard alanine present in TPN. Hemorrhagic shoc
k was induced in both groups and blood cultures were performed. Glutam
ine-treated rats did not show a significant difference in survival sug
gesting that it is of no particular value in severe hemorrhagic shock
in rats.