Vitamins and trace elements as essential components of parenteral nutrition

Abstract

In certain clinical situations, the usual food intake is impossible, insufficient or contraindicated, which causes nutritional deficiency with a deficiency of all macro- and micronutrients, and worsens the prognosis and treatment results. In such cases, parenteral nutrition (PN) is used to compensate for the deficiency of nutrients. Complex parenteral nutrition, along with macronutrients (amino acid solutions, fat emulsions and carbohydrates), includes solutions of vitamins (multivitamins, MVC) and trace elements (trace elements complexes, TEC). The aim of this work was to review the results of studies over the past 30 years on the clinical use of MVC and TEC for injections within the framework of the international ASPEN and ESPEN recommendations for the prevention and treatment of a number of diseases and pathological conditions accompanied by vitamin and trace elements deficiency, including full or partial PN. In accordance with international recommendations based on the results of most randomized clinical trials, the use of MVC and TEC allows preventing and eliminating vitamin and trace elements deficiency during long-term complete and/or partial PN, accelerating the recovery process of patients in critical conditions, and reducing the time spent in the ICU and in the clinic as a whole, to reduce the number of complications and mortality.