Saline has similar effect to albumin in critically ill patients

No difference exists in 28 day mortality between patients who are resuscitated with albumin and those given saline. This is the finding of a large randomised trial of fluid resuscitation in critically ill patients, reported at a recent meeting in the United States.

Results from the saline versus albumin fluid evaluation (SAFE) trial of nearly 7000 critically ill patients showed that 28 day mortality for patients randomised to albumin was 20.9%, whereas mortality in the saline arm was 21.1%. Data were available for a total of 3473 patients receiving albumin and 3460 receiving saline; the mean age of patients was 58 years. Although …