The effects of ad junctive treatment with L-carnitine on monitoring laboratory variables in ICU patients: A double-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial

Abstract Background Critically ill patients must be monitored constantly in intensive care units (ICU). Among many laboratory variables, nutritional status indicators are a key role in the prognosis of diseases. We investigated the effects of L-carnitine adjunctive therapy on monitoring variables in critical illness. Method A prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial was implemented in a medical ICU. Participants were 54 patients, aged > 18 years, with multiple conditions, randomly assigned to receive 3 gr L-carnitine per day or placebo, along with enteral feeding, for 1 week. Primary outcomes included monitoring variables related to nutritional status. Result Of 54 patients randomly assigned, 51 completed the trial. Serum albumin (Alb) (P value: 0.001), total protein (P value: 0.003), and calcium (Ca) (0.044) significantly increased in the intervention vs. control group. Alanine transaminase (ALT) (0.022), lactate (< 0.001), creatinine (Cr) (0.005), and international normalized ratio (INR) (0.049) decreased meaningfully in the intervention vs. control group. Conclusion L-carnitine supplementation in critically ill patients can improve several parameters including INR, Cr, ALT, Lactate, Ca, Alb, and total protein. Trial Registration: This trial was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (registration code: IR.MUMS.fm.REC.1396.671) and was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (registration code: IRCT 20151108024938N2) (Available in https://en.irct.ir/trial/30748).