Protection of Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) Mixtures
Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) mixture
These findings are useful in preventing degradation of TPN vitamins and will provide nutritional and therapeutic value to patients.
”Light protecting over-wraps for parenteral nutrition mixtures
The problem
Parenteral Nutrition (PN) is the practice of feeding a person intravenously bypassing the usual process of eating and digestion.
A number of PN ingredients are known to be photosensitive, in particular vitamin A. PN bags are usually protected using an over-wrap but there no evidence was initially available.
The solution
Our pharmacists used analytical techniques to detect the degradation of vitamin A in PN bags over a period of time.
The PN mixtures were prepared into EVA bags and exposed to daylight. They were each protected using different types of plastic over-wraps. The degradation of vitamin A in the PN mixtures was analysed over hourly intervals by a stability-indicating HPLC method.
The outcome
Brown coloured over-wraps were confirmed to be far more protective than any other colour. However, it was identified that none of the over-wraps provided complete protection against daylight.
Vitamin A remained stable in the control bag throughout the six hour period of infusion, indicating that losses in the test bags were due to photodegradation, rather than sorption to the bag or chemical degradation.
The benefits
The results of the study indicated that:
- The effectiveness of over-wraps to protect PN ingredients from light-induced degradation varies substantially.
- These findings are useful in preventing degradation of TPN vitamins and will provide nutritional and therapeutic value to patients.
Download the full story here (PDF, 100Kb)
