Compatibility of Intravenous Fat Emulsion with Antibiotics for Secondary Piggyback Infusion.

Background: The Guidelines for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition in Japan state that parenteral fat emulsion can be infused through a secondary administration set. We tested the compatibility of fat emulsion with antibiotics in piggyback infusions in terms of changes in the size distribution of fat particles.

Methods: Test mixtures of 5% glucose solution, fat emulsion, and 25 antibiotic agents were prepared in the ratio appropriate for piggyback infusion (33: 10: 40) and analyzed serially for the number of fine particles by size using a light-shielded automatic fine particle counter.

Results: No marked changes were observed in the 12 β-lactam antibacterial drugs, clindamycin phosphate, teicoplanin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and micafungin sodium even at 24 h after preparation. The particle size in the mixture containing vancomycin hydrochloride, levofloxacin hydrate, metronidazole, and fluconazole gradually increased after preparation. The particle size in the mixture containing gentamicin sulfate, arbekacin sulfate, minocycline hydrochloride, ciprofloxacin, and fosfomycin sodium changed significantly after preparation.

Conclusions: The changes in the particle size observed with some drugs suggest that they may cause changes in the lipid particle size during administration and, therefore, those antibiotics agents should not be administered concurrently with fat emulsion.