Studies on the behavior of chromium in serum and urine in polytraumatized patients as well as on the chromium concentration of various infusion solutions
Seeling, W.; Dölp, R.; Ahnefeld, F.W.; Dick, W.
Infusionstherapie und Klinische Ernahrung 2(2): 144-150
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0378-0791 PMID: 810425 Document Number: 94641
Determinations of the oligoelement chromium were carried out by flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy in serum, whole blood, and urine of patients, undergoing intensive care, as well as in a great part of the solutions used for parenteral nutrition. With rising amino acid and protein content, respectively, the chromium content of the infusion solutions increased due to contamination. Pure nonglucose-carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions contained 16.5-49.0 mug chromium/litre, amino acid-carbohydrate solutions 36.5-105.0 mug chromium/litre and human albumin solutions, depending on concentration, 86.9-394.2 mug chromium/litre. The average chromium concentration in the patients' serum was 11.3 +/- 0.26 mug/litre, which is twenty times more than the normal values determined by this method, and increased from 8.3 to 16.4 mug/litre within the first seven days. The urinary chromium concentrations were 37.7 +/- 4.1 mug/litre, being three times higher than the average serum values, but remained constant from day to day. The approximate chromium administration by parenteral infusion therapy was 160-250 mug chromium/day, the urinary chromium excretion was 111 +/- 20.5 mug/day. Consequently, great amounts of parenterally supplied chromium seem to be stored in the patients' tissues. Effects and risks for the organism caused by these unphysiological chromium concentrations are discussed.