Systemic appearance of nutrients placed into the peritoneal cavity.

The use of the peritoneal cavity as a route for delivery of nutrients in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis as well as patients not in renal failure has been proposed. In earlier studies we found dogs could be maintained for 30 days through continuous peritoneal infusion of a solution of amino acids, glucose, and lipids. We then conducted experiments to observe the rate of absorption of nutrients from the gut compared to the peritoneal cavity, the relative rate absorption of amino acids, sugars, and fats, and the absorption of of glucose polymers from the peritoneal cavity.