• Anab Rebecca Lehr, Soha Rached-d'Astous, Nick Barrowman, Anne Tsampalieros, Melissa Parker, Lauralyn McIntyre, Margaret Sampson, and Kusum Menon.
• Division of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2022 Mar 1; 23 (3): 181191181-191.

ObjectivesThe ideal crystalloid fluid bolus therapy for fluid resuscitation in children remains unclear, but pediatric data are limited. Administration of 0.9% saline has been associated with hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis and acute kidney injury. The primary objective of this systematic review was to compare the effect of balanced versus unbalanced fluid bolus therapy on the mean change in serum bicarbonate or pH within 24 hours in critically ill children.Data SourcesWe searched MEDLINE including Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Embase, CENTRAL Trials Registry of the Cochrane Collaboration, ClinicalTrials.gov, and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.Study SelectionUsing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols guidelines, we retrieved all controlled trials and observational cohort studies comparing balanced and unbalanced resuscitative fluids in critically ill children. The primary outcome was the change in serum bicarbonate or blood pH. Secondary outcomes included the prevalence of hyperchloremia, acute kidney injury, renal replacement therapy, and mortality.Data ExtractionStudy screening, inclusion, data extraction, and risk of bias assessments were performed independently by two authors.Data SynthesisAmong 481 references identified, 13 met inclusion criteria. In the meta-analysis of three randomized controlled trials with a population of 162 patients, we found a greater mean change in serum bicarbonate level (pooled estimate 1.60 mmol/L; 95% CI, 0.04-3.16; p = 0.04) and pH level (pooled mean difference 0.03; 95% CI, 0.00-0.06; p = 0.03) after 4-12 hours of rehydration with balanced versus unbalanced fluids. No differences were found in chloride serum level, acute kidney injury, renal replacement therapy, or mortality.ConclusionsOur systematic review found some evidence of improvement in blood pH and bicarbonate values in critically ill children after 4-12 hours of fluid bolus therapy with balanced fluid compared with the unbalanced fluid. However, a randomized controlled trial is needed to establish whether these findings have an impact on clinical outcomes before recommendations can be generated.Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.

29 keywords...

hide…