Parenteral nutrition via the peritoneum with dextrose and amino acids.

We filled the peritoneal cavity of 9 rabbits through a silastic pediatric Tenckhoff-type catheter with a volume 10% of the animal's weight of an isotonic 'absorption mass' made up by a hydroelectrolytic solution to which 535 mg/dl glucose and 2.53 g/l L-amino acids were added. Then we slowly and continuously infused into it a mixture of a 50% glucose solution with a 13.3% L-amino acid solution to provide 10 +/- 0.2 g glucose and 2.18 +/- 0.24 g L-amino acid (0.334 +/- 0.039 g nitrogen) per kilogram weight in 24 h. So we mimicked the scheme and quantities of total parenteral nutrition. Osmolarity and volume of peritoneal fluid were constant throughout the experiment. In the first 4 h, glucose concentration rose to 1,407 +/- 431 mg/dl and amino acids decreased to nearly two thirds of their initial concentrations. Thereafter, both amino acid and glucose concentrations stabilized. Blood sugar rose slightly from basal 145 +/- 16 mg/dl to a maximum of 200 +/- 59 mg/dl. Plasma amino acids showed a moderate but irregular variation with increases in proline, glutamic acid, methionine, lysine and arginine concentrations, a decline of isoleucine and tryptophan concentrations and no changes for the other amino acids given. There were no variations in plasma values of sodium, potassium, chloride, urea, creatinine, osmolarity, total proteins and hematocrit. We achieved a glucose absorption of 8.72 +/- 0.94 g/kg weight (87.07 +/- 10.11% of the administered amount) and a nitrogen absorption of 303 +/- 47 mg/kg/day (91.4 +/- 14% of administered amount).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)