Guidelines for Essential Trace Element Preparations for Parenteral Use: A Statement by an Expert Panel

Abstract

IN RECENT years the medical profession has focused increasing attention on the importance of trace elements in the nutritional management of medical, surgical, and traumatic conditions. New information on requirements and reports of trace element deficiencies in patients receiving intravenous (IV) nutrition emphasize the need for ensuring proper levels of trace elements in solutions for IV feeding, particularly when the parenteral route is the sole or primary source of nutrients for prolonged periods. On Oct 7, 1977, the Nutrition Advisory Group of the Department of Foods and Nutrition, American Medical Association, convened a group of experts on trace elements. The group included physicians in the specialties of pediatrics, surgery, and medicine; biochemists and pharmacists; and representatives of the Food and Drug Administration, theUnited States Pharmacopeia, and the pharmaceutical'industry. Four major topics were discussed: (1) current knowledge of requirements for trace elements in health and disease; (2) modification of dietary