Particle contamination in a ternary nutritional admixture.

During total parenteral nutrition, the intravenous infusion of large volumes over a prolonged period of time appears to involve risks of particle contamination for the patients. The aim of this work is to number, measure, and characterize inert particles in a standard ternary mixture prepared by sterile transfer technique. The distribution of particles is studied in each component of the admixture and in the final preparation using two different methods: the Coulter counter and an optical microscopic numbering after filtration. The nature and the origin of particles are determined by the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with a photon X spectrometer.