Glutamine Randomized Studies in Early Life: The Unsolved Riddle of Experimental and Clinical Studies

Table 3

Methods and results of randomized, controlled studies investigating potential beneficial effects of glutamine supplementation in mortality, morbidity, hospital acquired infections, length of stay, or inflammation in critically ill children.

Critically ill children	𝑛	Combined with other immunonutrients or inducers	Dose	Route	Duration	Mortality	Hospital-; acquired infections	Length of stay	Organ function/ Morbidity	Inflammation
Long-term intensive care patients (age 1–17 yrs) expected to require >72 hrs of invasive care [26]	293	Nutriceutical supplementation with zinc, selenium, glutamine, and metoclopramide (a prolactin secretalogue) compared to whey protein	0.3 g/kg/day	Glutamine by feeding tube each morning	Daily for up to 28 days	NS	Reduction in the immune-compromised group	NS	NS	—
Critically ill children [92]	50	L-arginine, docosahexaenoic; eicosapentaenoic acid, selenium	1.04 g/100 kCal	Early enteral feeding	5 days	NS	Trend for less	NS	Higher osmolality, sodium, urea. Diarrhea and gastric distention the most frequently recorded complications	Increased NB
Children with septic shock [93]	40	L-arginine, docosahexaenoic; eicosapentaenoic acid, selenium	1.04 g/100 kCal	Early enteral feeding	5 days	NS	NS	NS	NS	Decreased; IL-6
Children with severe head injury [94]	38	L-arginine, docosahexaenoic; eicosapentaenoic acid, selenium	1.04 g/100 kCal	Early enteral feeding	5 days	NS	NS	NS	NS	Decreased; IL-8

NB: nitrogen balance; IL: interleukin; NS: nonstatistical difference.