General Practice Revisited

Abstract

parenteral fluids include septicaemia, hepatocellular damage, renal impairment, and any degree ofacidosis.Patients requiring parenteral nutrition commonly fulfil such criteria.Secondly, all preparations mentioned in the British National Formulary 1981 as containing ethanol also contain either sorbitol or laevulose, the metabolism of which produces glyceralde- hyde 3-phosphate.If gluconeogenesis is reduced by simultaneous metabolism of ethanol then the only pathway available is conversion of glyceraldehyde to lactate.:'The use of such preparations will result in both overproduction and underutilisation of lactate and therefore increased risk of lactic acidosis.The use of glucose as a source of calories in parenteral feeding is easier to monitor since blood glucose measurements with Dextrostix and a suitable meter are more readily available than measurements of blood lactate.