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Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Cecal Ligation Puncture Procedure
Published on: May 7, 2011
Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation and sepsis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Ariadna Witte Castro1, María L Couce2,3, Carmela de Lamas2
1Research Institute of La Paz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain. ariadna.witte@idipaz.es.
Background:
Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) have proven to be essential for development in preterm infants and have been studied for their capacity to reduce inflammation and infection rates, including sepsis in enteral and parenteral nutrition. The aim of this review and meta-analysis is to gather the information available on this subject to determine if n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can reduce sepsis incidence in preterm infants.
Methods:
This systematic review was conducted by searching in the databases MEDLINE (via PubMed), ISI-Web of Science, EMBASE, SCOPUS, SciELO, and Cochrane Library databases. We analyzed the data regarding sepsis using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach to assess the quality of the evidence.
Results:
A total of 40 trials were included for review and 35 trials had the data available for quantitative analysis. LCPUFAs supplementation did not reduce incidence of sepsis (relative risk (RR), confidence interval (CI) 0.95 [0.87, 1.03] P = 0.87; I2 = 0%). These results remained consistent after the sensitivity analysis.
Conclusion:
The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that LCPUFA supplementation is not associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of sepsis in premature infants.
Impact:
Reviewing the information available about LCPUFA supplementation and sepsis since the results in previous Clinical Trials (CT) are inconclusive. It summarizes the results of 42 CT and we have not found conclusive results regarding sepsis in the literature. It could be of clinical interest for pediatricians and nutritionists.
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