Nutrition
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A patient with acute intermittent porphyria is presented to emphasize the relevance of nutrition in its management. Clinical manifestations, diagnosis of acute intermittent porphyria, simplified heme biosynthetic pathway, the glucose effect, and the rationale for giving nutritional therapy for acute intermittent porphyria are discussed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Diarrhea with enteral feeding: prospective reappraisal of putative causes.
Our objective was to test, in tube-fed patients whether treatment with antibiotics, the presence of hypoalbuminemia, or the use of hypertonic tube feeding is associated with a higher incidence of diarrhea; how often tube feeding actually causes diarrhea; and whether administration of a Lactobacillus preparation reduces the incidence of diarrhea. Our study design included a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of patients on tube feeding for at least 5 days. Stool weights and clinical assessment of bowel function were used as outcome measures. ⋯ Diarrhea occurs more commonly in tube-fed patients who have low serum albumin levels and have been treated with antibiotics for long periods, but these associations are generally not causal. Hypertonic feeding formulas are not associated with increased risk of diarrhea. Most cases of diarrhea in tube-fed patients are caused by factors extraneous to the tube feeding.
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The effects of administering total parenteral nutrition (TPN) supplemented with the dipeptide of L-alanyl-L-glutamine (Ala-Gln) on gut structure, barrier function, and protein metabolism were investigated in septic rats. Sepsis was induced by the continuous intraperitoneal administration of endotoxin via a miniosmotic pump. Twenty-three rats were divided into two groups and fed parenterally for 5 days. ⋯ The intestinal mucosal weight and villous height were significantly greater in the Ala-Gln group than in the control group. Pathological derangement of the mucosal structure was more marked in the control group than in the Ala-Gln group. These results suggest that TPN supplemented with Ala-Gln preserves the gut structure without decreasing the nitrogen balance under septic conditions.