Parenteral nutrition in patients with liver cirrhosis. Effects on circulating levels of glucose and hormones and on cerebral function

The effects of 2 and 5 days of total parenteral nutrition (TPN; 70 g amino-acids, 100 g fat, 150 g glucose) on carbohydrate, fat and amino-acid levels and on cerebral function were investigated in 10 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 7 age-matched healthy controls. The results were compared to those after a standardised oral diet. During TPN, glucose concentrations increased slightly in both groups. Insulin concentrations also rose in both groups, but the rise was more pronounced in the patients, resulting in a 10-fold difference between the two groups after 6.5 hours (patients: 281 ± 81 U/l; controls: 28 ± 5 U/l; p < 0.02). Glucagon increased significantly during TPN in the patients only (33%, p < 0.05). Similar but less pronounced patterns were observed after the oral diet. The basal concentrations of free fatty acids and 3-OH-butyrate were higher in the patients than in the controls. However, during both oral and parenteral nutrition, the concentrations fell in both groups. For 3-OH-butyrate the difference between the groups disappeared, while the free fatty acid levels remained higher in the patients throughout the TPN administration. Basal triglyceride levels were similar in patients and controls and rose to a similar extent in both groups during TPN. Plasma amino-acid concentrations were typical for cirrhotic patients in the basal state: low levels of the branched-chain amino-acids (BCAA) and high concentrations of the aromatic amino-acids (AAA). During TPN BCAA, as well as AAA, increased in both patients and controls, resulting in unaltered BCAA AAA ratio. All patients performed poorly on psychometric tests (Number Connection Tests A and B; Digit Symbol) before the study, indicating subclinical encephalopathy. However, no deterioration was observed in any of the tests during five days of TPN. Similarly, EEG and visual evoked potentials were unchanged during the study, demonstrating that patients with severe alcoholic liver disease tolerate a balanced intravenous nutrition without adverse effects on cerebral function.