Influence of Fish Oil Based Intravenous Fat Emulsions on the Epidermal Barrier Function
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2017-09-08
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The epidermal barrier efficacy is determined by the physicochemical properties of the
epidermal lipid matrix, among which ω-6 essential fatty acids (EFAs) play a key role.
Inversely, the ω-3 EFAs are not found in the epidermis. For patients receiving
lipid-containing parenteral nutrition (LCPN), the improvement of the epidermal barrier
through the infusion of most appropriate intravenous fat emulsions (IVFE) could have many
applications in clinical nutrition, mainly limiting water loss in patients receiving
long-term LCPN and help in electrolyte and water balance.
The objective of this interventional clinical trial is to evaluate the epidermal barrier
function in patients receiving long-term LCPN comparing two compositions of IVFE: (i) soybean
oil (SO)-based IVFE (Medialipide) or (ii) fish oil (FO)-containing IVFE (Lipidem). Epidermal
barrier function will be assessed through the transepidermal water loss (TEWL) measurement on
the skin surface, a validated marker of the epidermal barrier efficacy. The two IVFE
(SO-based or FO-containing) will be compared using a randomized double blind crossover
design, using patients as their own control. Each IVFE will be allocated for a 3-month
period, allowing sufficient timeframe for epidermal complete renewal. Patient's epidermal and
red blood cell EFA profile will be determinate in order to facilitate result interpretation.