Research

Macro partitioning

Soybean-oil-based lipid emulsions increase the risk of infection and sepsis in critically ill patients compared to lipid-free or alternative lipid formulations.

Be cautious with traditional soybean-oil-based lipid emulsions in septic or trauma patients, as they may increase infection risk. Consider alternative lipid emulsions (e.g., containing olive oil, MCT, or fish oil) which may have less impact on immune function.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
studies published during the 1970s and 1980s found that soybean-oil- and cottonseed-oil-based LEs were associated with a number of adverse immunological effects, such as reduced migration and phagocytosis of granulocytes, which resulted in increased rates of infections, including sepsis
Philip C. Calder et al. · Intensive Care Medicine · 2010

Why this rating

Based on historical studies and specific clinical trials, but the paper notes that newer LEs may have reduced effects.

Source

Lipid emulsions in parenteral nutrition of intensive care patients: current thinking and future directions

Philip C. Calder et al. · Intensive Care Medicine · 2010

DOI 10.1007/s00134-009-1744-5

narrative_reviewCited 205×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →