Effects of pH, temperature, concentration, and time on particle counts in lipid-containing total parenteral nutrition admixtures.

It has been standard practice in the United States to separate lipid emulsion from the other components of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) due to the reported instability of admixed intravenous lipid emulsions. Some clinicians, however, have combined all TPN components into one container and administered these admixtures to patients without apparent difficulties. Infusion of all nutrients from one container has many advantages.