Parenteral Nutrition in the Pediatric Oncologic Population: Are There Any Sex Differences?

Gender-based medicine is attracting increasing interest every day, but studies on pediatric populations are still limited. In this setting, sex differences among patients undergoing total parenteral nutrition (TPN) have not been previously reported. This study investigated the presence of sex differences in parenteral nutrition composition and outcomes among a cohort of pediatric patients admitted at the Oncohematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit of the Institute for Maternal and Child Health “Burlo Garofolo” of Trieste, Italy. For all 145 recruited patients (87 males, 58 females), the following data were collected: age, sex, volume and duration of TPN, macro- and micronutrient composition of TPN bags, electrolytic or blood gases imbalance, glycolipid alterations, liver damage during TPN, and the incidence of sepsis and thrombosis. The analysis showed that females required higher daily phosphate intake (p = 0.054) and essential amino acid supplementation (p = 0.07), while males had a higher incidence of hypertriglyceridemia (p < 0.05) and cholestasis. A higher incidence of sepsis was found in the non-transplanted male population (p < 0.05). No significant differences were appreciable in other analyzed variables. This study aims to create a basis for future gender-based nutritional recommendations in the pediatric field.