Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Sep 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialHypertonic saline for fluid resuscitation in ICU patients post-cardiac surgery (HERACLES): a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial.
Recent evidence questions a liberal approach to fluid resuscitation in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Here, we assess whether use of hypertonic saline applied as single infusion at ICU admission after cardiac surgery can reduce cumulative perioperative fluid volume. ⋯ In a monocentric prospective double-blind randomized clinical trial, we observed that hypertonic saline did not reduce the total fluid volume administered on the ICU in critically ill cardiac surgery patients. Hypertonic saline infusion was associated with timely increase in urinary output. Variations in electrolyte and acid-base homeostasis were transient, but substantial in all patients.