skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Validation of doubly labeled water method for energy expenditure in postsurgical infants

Conference · · Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:7022042

To validate the doubly labeled water method (/sup 2/H/sub 2/ /sup 18/O) in infants without concurrent water balance, carbon dioxide production rate (rCO/sub 2/) and energy expenditure (EE) were measured for 5 or 6 days by /sup 2/H/sub 2/ /sup 18/O and periodic open circuit respiratory gas exchange in 5 infants (mean age: 5.3 wk, range 1-14 wk). Following abdominal surgery (mean = 10.3 d, range 7-18 d), infants were maintained on constant oral or parenteral nutrition 4 d prior to and during the study. This avoided changes in baseline isotopic enrichment of body water diet induced changes in relative isotopic abundance of /sup 2/H and /sup 18/O could introduce significant errors in rCO/sub 2/. For /sup 2/H/sub 2/ /sub 1//sup 8/O, they assumed insensible water loss would be proportional to respiration volume and body surface area and hence rCO/sub 2/. This calculated insensible loss averaged 18% of water turnover. EE was calculated using measured respiratory quotients (m) and dietary intake (i) data. In 6 blinded studies with 5 infants, rCO/sub 2/ = 34.2 L/d (range 27.3-48.0), EE = 191 kcal/d (133-266) and EE/sub i/ = 197 kcal/d (138-281). Percent differences (+/- SD) from respiratory gas exchange were -1.1 +/- 5.8, -1.1 +/- 5.8, and 1.4 +/- 5.2, respectively. These findings demonstrate the validity of the doubly labeled water method for determining energy expenditure without concurrent water balance studies.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Chicago, IL
OSTI ID:
7022042
Report Number(s):
CONF-8604222-
Journal Information:
Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States), Vol. 45:4; Conference: 70. annual meeting of the Federation of American Society for Experimental Biology, St. Louis, MO, USA, 13 Apr 1986
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English