Applied nutritional investigationImpact of intravenous lipid emulsions on liver function tests: Contribution of parenteral fish oil

- γ-Glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alkalin phosphatase (AP) increase, particularly in the second week of parenteral nutrition.
- Intravenous fish oil is associated with a decrease in GGT and AP.
- Vegetable oils have a tendency to increase GGT and AP.
- Use of intravenous fish oil should be considered to reduce liver function test alterations.

ObjectiveLipids in parenteral nutrition (PN) have been linked to liver damage. The aim of this study is to 1) determine whether the incidence of alterations in liver function tests (LFTs) changes over time among hospitalized adult patients receiving PN; 2) evaluate whether the alteration in LFTs varies with the pattern of lipid administration; and 3) study the relationship between LFT alterations and fish oil (FO) emulsions.MethodsPatients treated with PN over 4 y were included. Demographic, clinical, nutritional, and analytical variables were collected. LFTs (γ-glutamyl transferase [GGT], alkaline phosphatase [AP], alanine aminotransferase [ALT], and total bilirubin [BIL]) were collected during PN treatment. Differences in LFTs were studied with t tests for paired samples. To match the type of lipid with each of the LFTs studied, four multivariate statistical models were performed. Significance was reported with the 95% confidence interval (CI) at p < 0.05 (two-tailed).ResultsWe studied 1555 patients. LFT alterations at baseline were high and increased during PN treatment except ALT. GGT and AP showed significant increases from baseline values. In the multivariate study, daily dose of FO (g·kg−1·d−1) was associated with a significant decrease in GGT (B = −11.189; 95% CI, −19.799 to −2.578) and in AP (B = −5.250; 95% CI, −10.263 to −0.237). Daily dose of vegetal oil (g/kg) had a tendency for a significant increase in GGT (B = 0.441; 95% CI, −0.107 to 1.039) and AP (B = 0.312; 95% CI, −0.023 to 0.648).ConclusionsGGT and AP increased throughout the clinical course of PN administration. These alterations had a multifactorial component. The administration of FO was associated with a significant decrease in the levels of GGT and AP.