Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24556914›Full record

SynthesisIntensive care medicine2014

Enteral omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in adult patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

Daojun Zhu, Yi Zhang, Shuo Li, Lu Gan, Huaizhi Feng, Wei Nie

Open access · bronzeAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Intensive care medicine, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
7.7field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Immunonutrition for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019
    Pooled it
  5. Guideline
  6. Pooled it
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  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Review
  11. Breathing and balance: Clinical insights and management strategies of respiratory acid-base disorders.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2025
    Review
  12. Plasma metabolic profiling implicates dysregulated lipid metabolism and glycolytic shift in hyperinflammatory ARDS.American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology · 2023
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Daojun ZhuDepartment of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610000, Sichuan, China.
Yi Zhang
Shuo Li
Lu Gan
Huaizhi Feng
Wei Nie
People's Liberation Army 401 Hospital · CNFudan University Shanghai Cancer Center · CNSecond Military Medical University · CNWest China Hospital of Sichuan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeControversy remains as to whether enteral supplementation of ω-3 fatty acids (FA) could improve outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Thus, we did a meta-analysis and aimed to investigate the benefit and harm of enteral ω-3 FA supplementation in adult patients with ARDS.

methodsDatabases including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, and Google Scholar were searched to find relevant articles. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing enteral ω-3 FA supplementation with a control or placebo intervention in adult patients with ARDS were included. The primary outcome was all-cause 28-day mortality. We used the Cochrane Collaboration methodology.

resultsSeven RCTs with 955 adult patients qualified for inclusion, and all the selected trials were considered as at high risk of bias. The use of enteral ω-3 FA did not significantly reduce all-cause 28-day mortality [relative risk (RR), 0.90; 95 % confidence intervals (CI), 0.68-1.18; p = 0.44; I (2) = 31 %; random effects]. Trial sequential analysis indicated lack of firm evidence for a 20 % RR reduction in all-cause 28-day mortality. PaO2/FiO2 ratio was significantly increased in the ω-3 FA group on day 4 [weighted mean difference (WMD), 45.14; 95 % CI, 16.77-73.51; p = 0.002; I (2) = 86 %; random effects] and day 7 (WMD, 33.10; 95 % CI, 1.67-64.52; p = 0.04; I (2) = 88 %; random effects). Meta-analysis using a random effects model showed no significant differences in ventilator-free days (VFD) (WMD, 2.47 days; 95 % CI, -2.85 to 7.79; p = 0.36; I (2) = 91 %) or intensive care unit-free days (ICU) (WMD, 2.31 days; 95 % CI, -2.34 to 6.97; p = 0.33; I (2) = 89 %) between the two groups.

conclusionsAmong patients with ARDS, enteral supplementation of ω-3 FA seemed ineffective regarding all-cause 28-day mortality, VFD, and ICU-free days. Routine use of enteral ω-3 FA cannot be recommended based on the available evidence.

Indexed as

AdultDietary SupplementsEnteral NutritionFatty Acids, Omega-3HumansMeta-Analysis as TopicRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRespiratory Distress SyndromeTreatment OutcomeFatty Acids, Omega-3

Identifiers

PMID24556914
OpenAlexW2140233448

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.