Effect of complete parenteral nutrition using fat emulsion on liver.

Four to 8 weeks of complete parenteral nutrition including fat emulsion, 10% Intralipid, from 2 to 4 gm/kg/day, was studied in puppies. The following conclusions were reached: At the end of 4-8 weeks of complete parenteral nutrition using the infusion of fat emulsion, the lipid content of the liver was twice the value in control animals, which returned to the approximate normal value in a short period after the interruption of the fat emulsion. This increase in the lipid content was considered to be caused by a proper metabolic process of fat emulsion and would seem to indicate that the daily infusion of the fat emulsion from 2 to 4 gm could be performed safely for an extended period of time.