Long-term parenteral nutrition (PN) may be complicated by PN-associated liver disease (PNALD), and some studies suggest an association between the use of soy-based fat emulsions and PNALD development. Patients' liver function typically improves and PNALD resolves after reducing or stopping a soy-based fat emulsion, and thus lipid minimization has been the primary strategy for managing PNALD in many intestinal rehabilitation programs. However, fat emulsions often cannot be stopped entirely, leading some patients to develop PNALD even after lipid reduction strategies have been implemented. Smoflipid emulsion (Kabi-Fresenius, Bad Homburg, Germany), a balanced mixture of soybean oil, medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), olive oil, and fish oil, was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States as an equivalent alternative to Intralipid (Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Deerfield, IL). In several pediatric studies, patients who received Smoflipid had significantly lower serum bilirubin levels than those who received Intralipid. In this case report, we present a patient who developed severe PNALD with subsequent resolution after 20 weeks on Smoflipid.
Keywords: lipids; liver disease; long-term care; nutrition; nutrition assessment; nutrition support practice; parenteral nutrition; research and diseases.