Omega-3 fatty acid is known for immunonutrition in that it has anti-inflammatory properties and improves the patients’ immune function. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a fish oil-based lipid emulsion for adult patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).
This was a retrospective study of 90 adult allogeneic HSCT patients from July 2011 to June 2015. The patients were divided into two groups according to the lipid type provided; fish oil group (FO group, n=55) and non-fish oil group (NFO group, n=35). The demographics, parenteral nutrition and lipid emulsion duration, length of hospital stay (LOS), weight change, 30 day mortality, survival period, incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), neutropenic fever, sepsis, and re-hospitalization were collected from the electronic medical records.
The patients’ characteristics including age, sex, body mass index, and underlying disease were similar in the two groups. The incidence of aGVHD and infectious complications, mortality, LOS, re-hospitalization were also similar. The FO group showed weight gains, whereas the NFO group showed weight loss (FO
The clinical outcomes were similar in the two groups but there was a tendency for gain weight in the FO group. A large, well designed study, and a dosing study will also be needed to determine the optimal dose range for HSCT patients.