Metabolic clearance of a fat emulsion containing medium-chain triglycerides in cirrhotic patients.

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) may be advantageous in cirrhotic patients, but data on the clearing capacity are lacking. Intravenous fat tolerance test (IVFTT) was performed on 28 cirrhotic patients (Child's A, n = 9; Child's B, n = 13; Child's C, n = 6) to determine the clearance rate of Lipofundin MCT 20%, which contains a physical mixture of MCT and long-chain triglycerides (LCT). The mean fractional elimination rate (k2) of MCT/LCT physical blend in the cirrhotic patients (7.72%/min) was comparable with that of the healthy control subjects (n = 9, k2 = 5.43%/min). Significantly higher serum free fatty acid (FFA) levels were found in the cirrhotic patients during IVFTT. The difference could be accounted for by their higher basal levels. In all patients, serum FFA concentrations returned to basal value at the end of 1 hour. Prompt appearance of glycerol and beta-hydroxybutyrate was seen during IVFTT, indicating that hydrolysis of triglycerides and release of ketone bodies from the liver were rapid. It was concluded that the ability to eliminate MCT/LCT physical blend was not impaired in the cirrhotic patients.