An NIH-supported clinical trial found that there was no difference in meaningful outcomes between two commonly used treatments for pediatric patients with septic shock.
Septic shock is a “life-threatening condition triggered by severe infection which requires immediate medical treatment.” The treatments that scientists were comparing in this study are “balanced crystalloid fluid, an IV solution designed to closely mimic the electrolyte composition of human plasma,” and a “0.9% saline IV solution.” Over 4,200 pediatric participants were assigned into each arm of the trial.
No significant differences were found between the two groups for “incidences of death, persistent kidney disfunction, or new renal-replacement theory (a type of dialysis treatment to temporarily replace kidney function).” Children receiving the 0.9% saline solution had “significantly higher incidences of abnormally high levels of chloride and sodium in their blood, while those receiving the balanced fluid had slightly higher incidence of abnormally high lactate in their blood.” The study found those differences, which were expected, “did not translate into meaningful differences in patient outcomes.”
The authors were uncertain if the results of the study could be generalized to low-resource settings or situations where a patient has hospital-acquired sepsis. Despite this, these results “confirm that emergency physicians can be reassured that either balanced fluid or 0.9% saline are safe and effective for children treated for septic shock.”
