Parenteral nutrition with standard solutions in paediatric intensive care patients

Background: Paediatric intensive care patients often require parenteral. nutrition (PN). Only very few standard mixtures are available for infants and children. Individual PN solutions need to be compounded manually on the ward, if preparation by the hospital pharmacy is not feasible. Since manual compounding is associated with a greater risk of compounding errors and microbial contamination, the use of standard solutions might be a preferable alternative. Methods: We evaluated the use of standard solutions on the paediatric intensive care unit of the von Hauner Children's Hospital at the University of Munich over a period of 8 months. PIN solutions were either prescribed individually or as standard solutions. We evaluated the frequency of standard solution prescriptions and their modification, compared nutrient intakes with standard vs. individual PN solutions as wet( as the occurrence of laboratory anomalies. Results: Standard PN solutions were prescribed in 68% of cases, individual PN solutions in 32%. Modifications of standard PN solutions were performed in 54%. The intake of a number of macronutrients and electrolytes was similar with individual and standard PN, but calcium and phosphate intakes were tower with individual total PN. Electrolyte imbalances occurred slightly more often with individual PN than with standard PN (34% vs. 26%, respectively). Conclusion: Standard PN solutions were used in the majority of patients on a paediatric intensive care unit. We did not detect indications for inadequacy of standard solutions in the majority of patients reviewed. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.