Arterio-venous differences in amino acids, glucose, lactate and fatty acids in burn patients; effect of ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate.

The study concerns two groups of seven burn patients matched for age, weight and total burn surface. Both groups received conventional enteral nutrition, while one was given a 10 g/day alpha-ketoglutarate ornithine (OKG) supplement. Femoral venous and arterial blood was taken from day 2 to day 13 post-burn in order to determine levels of amino acids, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), glucose and lactate. In the control group large negative arterio-venous differences (DeltaA-V) were observed in amino acid and lactate levels whereas they were significantly lower with regard to Hyp, Gly, Lys and Ala in the OKG-treated group. DeltaA-V was near zero for glucose and NEFA in both groups. These results support the view that OKG-therapy limits the output of amino acids in the leg and that glucose and NEFA do not constitute the main fuel in muscle.