Increased urinary peroxides in newborn infants receiving parenteral nutrition exposed to light.

Objectives: To determine whether peroxide loads infused with total parenteral nutrition (TPN) are fully quenched by premature infants.

Study Design: After baseline urine peroxide levels were established, the effect of various parenteral regimens was correlated with urinary peroxide levels in 64 newborn infants
Results: The level of urinary peroxides measured for infants given a fat-free TPN regimen unprotected from light (74.5 +/- 15.3 micromol/L) was similar to levels found in infants given a lipid-containing regimen (88.1 +/- 10.3 micromol/L). When photoprotected, the fat-free alimentation was associated with peroxide levels (28.8 +/- 2.8 micromol/L) similar to those measured before TPN (27.6 +/- 4.1 micromol/L).

Conclusions: Because urine peroxide levels are changed by various nutritional procedures, antioxidant systems of premature infants are unable to fully quench the oxidant load associated with TPN.