Oral Correction of Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency in Cystic Fibrosis

ABSTRACT. A combination of pancreatic insufficiency and inadequate caloric intake may produce essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency in patients with cystic fibrosis. Seventy-five percent of the adolescents and young adults with poor weight gain in our clinic were EFA-deficient by total plasma linoleic acid criteria. Twenty of these patients were placed on an oral hyperalimentation regimen containing 230 % of calories required for basal energy expenditure, 40 % as fat. Forty percent of these (8/20) achieved normal EFA levels on this diet. Eight of the nonresponding patients were given an additional 5 % of their caloric intake as linoleic acid monoglyceride. All who main-tained caloric intake achieved normal EFA levels. Normaliza-tion of EFA levels was associated with a number of clinical benefits including increase in weight and activity and, in five teenage girls, regulation of menses. The 16 control patients wh