PREVENTIVE EFFECT OF SIMULTANEOUSLY INFUSED LIPID EMULSION AGAINST THROMBOPHLEBITIS DURING POSTOPERATIVE PERIPHERAL PARENTERAL-NUTRITION

A prospective, randomized study was conducted to determine whether sim ultaneous infusion of lipid emulsion with an amino acid-dextrose-elect rolyte solution would reduce the incidence of thrombophlebitis (TP) du ring postoperative peripheral parenteral nutrition (PPN). Thirty patie nts who had undergone gastric resection for adenocarcinoma were random ly divided into two groups according to whether they were infused with 10% lipid emulsion (group A) or 5% glucose solution (group B) simulta neously with the amino acid-glucose solutions. The total osmolarity of the infusion solutions in each group was 853 mOsm/l. The incidence of complications due to TP, namely, redness and/or edema beneath the can nula insertion site and/or pain, was investigated. There were no diffe rences in the background characteristics of the patients in groups A a nd B, except regarding concurrent resection of other organs (P = 0.03) . The incidence of edema in group A was significantly lower than in gr oup B on postoperative days 2 and 4, although there was no difference in the incidence of redness and pain between the two groups. These fin dings suggest that the simultaneous infusion of lipid emulsion has a p reventive effect against TP during postoperative PPN, and may be a pra ctical means of providing PPN after gastrointestinal surgery.