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Acute kidney injury

Buffered crystalloids or saline in the ICU — a SPLIT decision

Nature Reviews Nephrology volume 12, pages 6–8 (2016)Cite this article

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Fluid therapy with saline is considered by some to confer a notable risk of acute kidney injury and mortality. However, data from the SPLIT trial — the first large, randomized controlled trial to compare saline to a 'balanced' solution — do not indicate any marked signal of harm in critically ill patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, Innsbruck, A-6020, Austria

    Michael Joannidis

  2. Department of Critical Care, Intensive Care Unit, Royal Surrey County Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey Peri-Operative Anaesthesia & Critical Care Collaborative Research Group (SPACeR), Egerton Road, Guildford, GU2 7XX, UK

    Lui G. Forni

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  1. Michael Joannidis
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  2. Lui G. Forni
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Correspondence to Michael Joannidis.

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Competing interests

M.J. has received speaker honoraria from Baxter Healthcare. L.G.F. has received speaker honoraria from Fresenius and Baxter Healthcare.

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Joannidis, M., Forni, L. Buffered crystalloids or saline in the ICU — a SPLIT decision. Nat Rev Nephrol 12, 6–8 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2015.190

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