The metabolic and cardiovascular effects of intravenous infusion of glucose or intralipid in normal humans

Abstract

This study was performed to determine whether the administration of intravenous fluids, isosmolar with plasma, activated the sympathetic nervous system, thereby causing changes in cardiovascular variables. On four separate occasions, six young, healthy men were studied for 30 min before and, for 40 min after a 60 min period of either (a) intravenous infusion of 500 ml of 5% dextrose, (b) intravenous infusion of 500 ml of a mixture of 10% Intralipid and saline (154 mmol NaCl 1 −1), (c) intravenous infusion of 500 ml of saline (154 mmol NaCl 1 −1) or (d) no intravenous infusion. Venous plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline concentrations did not change significantly during any of these interventions. The venous plasma insulin level rose during infusion of 5% dextrose (p<0.001). The respiratory exchange ratio rose during the dextrose infusion and fell during the infusion of the Intralipid and saline mixture (p<0.01). Hand and calf blood flows and vascular resistances were not significantly affected by any procedure. Similar, small, changes in heart rate, arterial blood pressure, metabolic rate, core temperature and mean skin temperature were observed during the four protocols. The provision of small amounts of metabolic substrate, as either glucose or fat, led to rapid changes in fuel utilisation. However, under the conditions of the present experiments, there was no evidence of activation of the sympathetic nervous system.