ABSTRACT
Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) supplies all daily nutritional requirements to the patient. In general, because TPN solutions are concentrated and therefore have the potential to cause venous thrombosis in peripheral veins, a central venous catheter is required. TPN should be considered as a drug. Most hospitals in the UK now have a nutrition team comprising a physician, dietician and pharmacist, with the remit of reviewing patients with nutritional concerns and guiding safe use of parenteral nutrition. Basic TPN solutions are prepared using sterile techniques. Electrolytes can be added to meet the patient’s needs. Strict asepsis must be used during administration. Ideally, TPN should be administered through a dedicated port of a central venous line. The infusion is started initially at 50% of the calculated requirements. With close monitoring by a nutrition team complication rates should be less than 5%, however complications related either to the central venous catheter or to the nutrition, may occur.
