Practice of parenteral nutrition in hospitalized adult patients in Korea: A retrospective multicenter cross-sectional study.

There have been no studies on the characteristics of parenteral nutrition (PN) supply for adult inpatients in South Korea. The aim of this retrospective multicenter cross sectional study was to investigate the current practice and characteristics of PN support in hospitalized adult patients in South Korea for the first time. This study was conducted retrospectively for the adult patients who were hospitalized and received PN in nine hospitals on August 1st, 2017 to October 30th, 2017. We evaluated the type of PN formulation, PN administration period, administration route, calories supplied, amount of protein supplied, and laboratory results. Among the 11,580 inpatient admissions on that day, 1,439 patients received PN (12.4%). The majority of enrolled patients (96.5%) used the commercial PN, of which 86.2% were multi-chamber. 71.2% of them received PN peripherally. The average in hospital PN duration was 17.8 ± 52.6 days. Patients received only 65.4 ± 25.4% calories of their target calories. The in-hospital mortality of enrolled patients was 22%. In South Korea, commercial PN was usually administered to hospitalized adult patients and in-hospital mortality in adult patients using PN was higher in South Korea compared to other countries. This study provides the characteristics and the PN support status of hospitalized adult patients receiving PN in South Korea.

Effects of Citrulline Supplementation on Body Weight in Patients With Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Many health benefits have been proposed for citrulline, but they lack evidence based on human research. This study was to evaluate whether an oral citrulline supplement affects body weight changes and laboratory values in patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. METHODS: Patients who underwent hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery during January to June 2015 were screened for analysis. Patients using citrulline during hospital stay and at discharge were classified as the citrulline group, whereas those without any records of citrulline were designated as the control group. The primary efficacy outcome was the change in body weight at discharge and at first outpatient visit. Other outcomes included change in laboratory values. RESULTS: A total of 138 patients were included in analysis. Citrulline group and control group did not differ with respect to baseline characteristics except for white blood cell count. Percent in change of body weight and body mass index from discharge to first outpatient visit was significantly different between the 2 groups, showing less weight loss in citrulline group than in controls (-0.8 ± 2.7% vs -2.5 ± 3.8%, P < 0.05). Especially in men, citrulline use significantly affected weight loss from the multivariate analysis (P < 0.05); percent change in weight in citrulline group was predicted to increase by 2.1 units. During hospital stay, significant differences between the 2 groups were found in changes of cholesterol and protein levels. CONCLUSION: Citrulline supplement reduced weight loss in surgical patients during recovery.