Applications and hazards of intravenous hyperalimentation.

The current technique of total parenteral nutrition (intravenous hyperalimentation) is relatively safe and efficacious, but will undoubtedly undergo change and modification as improved techniques and materials become available. With judicious application of the technique as a clinical therapeutic and investigative tool, new indications for general and specific total parenteral nutrition will likely expand and extend into every medical discipline. As relatively few of the potential applications for total parenteral nutrition have been thoroughly explored or exploited, the clinical and laboratory research possibilities appear to be virtually limitless. Thus, as increasing knowledge and experience are gained, application of total parenteral nutrition will inevitably be expanded and will become more specific, and the hazards will no doubt decrease.