New study: time to rethink pre-hospital i.v. fluids in trauma

New data strongly suggest that the routine practice of administering i.v. fluids in trauma patients before transport to the hospital may do more harm than good. The study's lead author suggests that ED leaders have a strong role to play in changing a decades-old protocol that was implemented without sufficient scientific evidence. The retrospective study of 776,234 trauma patients found that patients who received pre-hospital i.v. fluids were 11% more likely to die than patients who did not receive fluids. Administration of i.v. fluids delays time to treatment and may exacerbate bleeding by raising blood pressures. There might be specific types of patients who would benefit from pre-hospital i.v. fluids, but the issue requires further study.