Letter
What is the optimal fluid status in critically ill patients?
Renal Division, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin branch, Yunlin County, Taiwan
Critical Care 2012, 16:443 doi:10.1186/cc11446
See related research by Smith and Perner, http://ccforum.com/content/16/3/R76
Published: 14 August 2012First paragraph (this article has no abstract)
Smith and Perner [1] reported that septic patients with shock for three days or more who received higher fluid volumes had reduced mortality. This is an important issue because how much fluid is enough for critically ill patients has been controversial for a long time. The optimal fluid status should be set according to the prevailing conditions. In contrast to this study, most previous studies have found that a more positive fluid balance is associated with higher mortality [2,3]. Too much fluid induces interstitial edema, which results in end organ damage, poor wound healing and nosocomial infection [4].
