title: Carnitine femoral arterial-venous differences in the stressed critically ill.
abstract: Femoral arterial and venous carnitine concentrations from critically ill patients were measured in order to determine if the large urinary carnitine excretions seen in these patients was associated with a net loss of carnitine from skeletal muscle. Bloods were drawn two or three times during the 7-day study period. A 24-hr urine sample was obtained on the same day. The arterial-venous difference for free carnitine plus short chain acylcarnitine was -2.8 +/- 0.9 microM (means +/- SEM), and -2.7 +/- 1.0 microM for total carnitine. Both values were significantly less than zero (p less than 0.05). Median urinary free carnitine excretion was 1237 mumol/day while the median acylcarnitine excretion was 544 mumol/day. We conclude that skeletal muscle in these patients is in negative carnitine balance, and is at least one source of the increase in carnitine excretion seen in critically ill patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Scholten
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002331:Carnitine / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery; D005268:Femoral Vein; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D010289:Parenteral Nutrition, Total; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002331:Carnitine