Phase IV prospective clinical study to evaluate the effect of taurine on liver function in postsurgical adult patients requiring parenteral nutrition.
BACKGROUND
Taurine's role in bile acid metabolism and anti-inflammatory activity could exert a protective effect on hepatobiliary complications associated with parenteral nutrition (PN). In this study, the effects of 2 amino acid solutions, with and without taurine, on liver function administered to nonacutely ill postsurgical patients as part of a short-term PN regimen were prospectively compared.


METHODS
Adult patients randomly received (double-blind) Tauramin 10% or a standard PN solution without taurine as the control (1.5 g amino acid/kg body weight [bw]/d; infusion rate of ≤4 mg glucose/kg bw/d) for a period of 5-30 days. γ-Glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and other indicators of liver function, glucose metabolism, lipid profile, inflammation markers, and treatment safety data were collected.


RESULTS
Thirty-five patients receiving taurine PN and 39 receiving control PN were enrolled (intention-to-treat [ITT] population). Most patients (n = 62) discontinued after day 7 of follow-up (per-protocol [PP] population: n = 24 and n = 27, respectively). ITT patients with high GGT values after 5 days of PN comprised 68.6% and 64.1%, respectively. The mean change in GGT values with respect to the baseline values was 167 ± 192 and 157 ± 185 IU/L, respectively. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels after 7 days of PN were significantly decreased in the taurine PN group of PP patients (-2.83 ± 30.9 vs 23.9 ± 27.0 mg/dL for control PN; P < .05). None of the adverse events reported (taurine PN: n = 6; control PN: n = 7) were treatment related.


CONCLUSIONS
PN solutions with and without taurine had similar effects on liver function parameters, except for an LDL reduction in PN with taurine, when administered to nonacutely ill postsurgical patients in the short term (5-7 days).
Unidad de Nutrición y Dietética, Obesidad y Metabolismo, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Ciber de Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Madrid, Spain farrietab.hrc@salud.madrid.org.
Francisco
F
Arrieta
Unidad de Nutrición y Dietética, Obesidad y Metabolismo, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Ciber de Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Madrid, Spain.
José Antonio
JA
Balsa
Unidad de Nutrición y Dietética, Obesidad y Metabolismo, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Ciber de Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Madrid, Spain.
Cristina
C
de la Puerta
Unidad de Nutrición y Dietética, Obesidad y Metabolismo, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Ciber de Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Madrid, Spain.
José Ignacio
JI
Botella
Unidad de Nutrición y Dietética, Obesidad y Metabolismo, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Ciber de Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Madrid, Spain.
Isabel
I
Zamarrón
Servicio de Anestesia, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
Elena
E
Elías
Servicio de Anestesia, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
José Ignacio Pérez
JI
Del Río
Servicio de Anestesia, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
Paloma
P
Alonso
Servicio de Anestesia, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
Angel
A
Candela
Laboratorio de Patología Vascular, Madrid, Spain.
Luis Miguel
LM
Blanco-Colio
Laboratorio de Patología Vascular, Madrid, Spain CIBERDEM, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Jesús
J
Egido
Servicio de Farmacia, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
Pilar
P
Navarro
Unidad de Nutrición y Dietética, Obesidad y Metabolismo, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Ciber de Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Madrid, Spain.
Clotilde
C
Vázquez
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010289:Parenteral Nutrition, Total / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013654:Taurine / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D013654:Taurine; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase
liver function tests; parenteral nutrition; postoperative care; surgery