Carnitine supplementation of parenterally fed neonates.

Study answer

What this study found

Carnitine supplementation did not show convincing benefit for weight gain, lipid tolerance, or ketogenesis in neonates receiving parenteral nutrition. Weight gain results were inconsistent across small trials, with examples including MD 5.60 [-0.12, 11.32] in Bonner 1995b, MD -5.53 [-34.91, 23.85] in Coran 1985, and pooled neutral findings for later outcomes such as MD 0.80 [-3.35, 4.95] at 2 to 4 weeks in Shortland 1998. Secondary outcomes were also largely null: free fatty acids pooled at -0.16 [-0.37, 0.05], triglycerides at -0.69 [-1.84, 0.45], and maximum lipid tolerated at 0.09 [-0.20,…

Study & population

This was a systematic review of randomized trials in newborns requiring parenteral nutrition, including premature infants, very low birth weight infants, and some term post-surgical neonates.

Intervention

Carnitine supplementation was given as the active intervention in 8 randomized trials of parenterally fed neonates, with routes and regimens varying by study.

Key limitation

The evidence base was small, short term, and methodologically diverse, with varied doses, routes, and outcome timing across studies.

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Original abstract