Renal effects of parenteral fish oil administered to heart-beating organ donors and renal-transplant recipients: a tolerance study.
OBJECTIVE
Nutrition can interfere with organ function during the different stages of transplantation. Oral fish oil supplementation to kidney transplant recipients has been found to improve renal function. The aim of the present study was to determine the safety and tolerance of intravenous administration of fish-oil emulsion to heart-beating brain-dead donors and, subsequently, to the kidney recipients, and to assess its effects on renal function.


METHODS
A lipid emulsion enriched with omega-3 fatty acids (MLF 541) was given intravenously to 8 heart-beating, brain-dead organ donors for up to 4 h before organ harvesting and to the kidney recipients for 5 days postoperatively. Hemodynamic, biochemistry and hematological parameters were measured before and at the end of lipid administration in the donors and on posttransplantation days 1, 5, 30 and 180 in the recipients. Findings in the recipients were compared with a concurrent control group.


RESULTS
There were no significant changes in hemodynamic or laboratory parameters during the MLF infusion in the donors or the 5 days of MLF administration in the recipients. Blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels decreased over time in both the study and control recipients (P < 0.05 for both), with no significant between-group difference at any of the time points studied.


CONCLUSIONS
Administration of MLF 541 is safe in organ donors and in kidney recipients. Further studies involving nutrients as pharmacological agents in organ transplantation are warranted.
Singer
Pierre
P
Department of General Intensive Care, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petah Tiqva 49100, Israel. pierres@post.tau.ac.il
Zolotarski
Victor
V
Yussim
Alex
A
Lustig
Shamir
S
Attal-Singer
Joelle
J
Cohen
Jonathan
J
D000368:Aged; D001926:Brain Death / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006085:Graft Survival; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010288:Parenteral Nutrition / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012449:Safety; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D005395:Fish Oils