CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY
Copper is an essential nutrient which serves as a cofactor for serum ceruloplasmin, an oxidase necessary for proper formation of the iron carrier protein, transferrin. Copper also helps maintain normal rates of red and white blood cell formation.
Providing copper during TPN helps prevent development of the following deficiency symptoms: Leukopenia, neutropenia, anemia, depressed ceruloplasmin levels, impaired transferrin formation, secondary iron deficiency and osteoporosis.
Normal serum copper values range from 80 to 163 mcg/dl (mean, approximately 110 mcg/dl). The serum copper level at which deficiency symptoms appear is not precisely defined. A serum value of 9 mcg copper/dl was reported for one TPN patient who received no copper. The daily turnover of copper through ceruloplasmin is approximately 0.5 mg. Excretion of copper is through the bile (80%), directly through the intestinal wall (16%) and in urine (4%).