Letter: Essential fatty acid deficiency due to artificial diet in cystic fibrosis.

We wish to draw the attention of your readers to a possible 
hazard of feeding infants with an elemental diet. Considerable interest is 
currently being shown in the use of the artificial diet in 
cystic fibrosis. It may be used as a supplement to ordinary 
food or to supply all the nutritional needs of the child. 
In the latter event we believe that it is particularly important 
to emphasize to the parents the need for an additional source 
of dietary fat. Clinical evidence and animal experiments suggest that infants, 
because of their rapid growth rate, are particularly at risk and 
that in the absence of dietary E.F.A. they will develop deficiency 
symptoms in about two months. 