Trial reportThe New England journal of medicine2018
Balanced Crystalloids versus Saline in Noncritically Ill Adults.
Trial report in The New England journal of medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 5 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 288 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Saline Against Lactated Ringers or Plasmalyte in the Emergency Department (SaLt-ED)
Balanced Solutions and Plasma Electrolytes in the Medical Intensive Care Unit
Balanced Crystalloids (RInger's Lactate) Versus Normal Saline in Adults With Diabetic Ketoacidosis in the Emergency Department: a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (BRISK-ED)
Intravenous Hydration After Surgery Using Boluses of Balanced Salt Solution
A Multi-Center, Randomized, Controlled, Pivotal Study to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of a Selective Cytopheretic Device in Patients With Acute Kidney Injury Requiring Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy
Who cites it
288 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,141 citations in OpenAlex.
- Balanced crystalloid versus saline for resuscitation in pediatric septic shock: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy of balanced crystalloids versus 0.9% saline on delayed graft function and perioperative outcomes in kidney transplantation: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.British journal of anaesthesia · 2024Pooled it
- A Systematic Bibliometric Analysis of High-Impact Articles in Critical Care Nephrology.Blood purification · 2024Pooled it
- Acetate- versus lactate-buffered crystalloid solutions: A systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica · 2022Pooled it
- Controversies in acute kidney injury: conclusions from a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Conference.Kidney international · 2020 · on this mapGuideline
- Balanced Fluid or 0.9% Saline in Children Treated for Septic Shock.The New England journal of medicine · 2026Trial
- Effect of Ringer's Lactate versus normal saline irrigation on postoperative morbidity after surgical removal of mandibular impacted third molars: a randomized split-mouth clinical trial.BMC oral health · 2026Trial
- Evaluation of the effects of Plasma-Lyte 148 or 0.9% saline on acid-base balance in patients undergoing neurosurgery: a randomized clinical trial.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2026Trial
- Bicarbonate-buffered solution versus Plasma-LyteTM in orthotopic adult liver transplantation: a pilot open-label, randomized, non-inferiority trial.Korean journal of anesthesiology · 2025Trial
- 5% Dextrose in Ringer's Lactate versus 5% Dextrose Normal Saline as Maintenance Intravenous Fluid Therapy in Children - A Randomised Controlled Trial.Indian journal of pediatrics · 2025Trial
- Time Course of Kidney Injury Biomarkers in Children With Septic Shock: Nested Cohort Study Within the Pragmatic Pediatric Trial of Balanced Versus Normal Saline Fluid in Sepsis Trial.Pediatric critical care medicine : a journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies · 2025Trial
- 0.9% Saline versus Ringer's lactate as initial fluid in children with diabetic ketoacidosis: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2025Trial
- Effect of isotonic sodium bicarbonate infusion on perioperative acid-base status among patients undergoing emergency laparotomy for perforation peritonitis (ISABEL trial): a randomized controlled trial.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025Trial
- Ringer's lactate administered at 15 °C leads to a greater and more prolonged increase in blood pressure compared to 37 °C.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Effect of a single small volume fluid bolus with balanced or un-balanced fluids on chloride and acid-base status: a prospective randomized pilot study (the FLURES-trial).Journal of nephrology · 2024Trial
- Optimizing Recovery in Elderly Patients: Anabolic Benefits of Glucose Supplementation during the Rehydration Period.Nutrients · 2024Trial
- A pragmatic, open-label, randomized controlled trial of Plasma-Lyte-148 versus standard intravenous fluids in children receiving kidney transplants (PLUTO).Kidney international · 2024Trial
- Balanced crystalloids (RInger's lactate) versus normal Saline in adults with diabetic Ketoacidosis in the Emergency Department (BRISK-ED): a pilot randomised controlled trial.Emergency medicine journal : EMJ · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Effect of Saline vs Gluconate/Acetate-Buffered Solution vs Lactate-Buffered Solution on Serum Chloride Among Children in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: The SPLYT-P Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA pediatrics · 2023Trial
228 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundComparative clinical effects of balanced crystalloids and saline are uncertain, particularly in noncritically ill patients cared for outside an intensive care unit (ICU).
methodsWe conducted a single-center, pragmatic, multiple-crossover trial comparing balanced crystalloids (lactated Ringer's solution or Plasma-Lyte A) with saline among adults who were treated with intravenous crystalloids in the emergency department and were subsequently hospitalized outside an ICU. The type of crystalloid that was administered in the emergency department was assigned to each patient on the basis of calendar month, with the entire emergency department crossing over between balanced crystalloids and saline monthly during the 16-month trial. The primary outcome was hospital-free days (days alive after discharge before day 28). Secondary outcomes included major adverse kidney events within 30 days - a composite of death from any cause, new renal-replacement therapy, or persistent renal dysfunction (defined as an elevation of the creatinine level to ≥200% of baseline) - all censored at hospital discharge or 30 days, whichever occurred first.
resultsA total of 13,347 patients were enrolled, with a median crystalloid volume administered in the emergency department of 1079 ml and 88.3% of the patients exclusively receiving the assigned crystalloid. The number of hospital-free days did not differ between the balanced-crystalloids and saline groups (median, 25 days in each group; adjusted odds ratio with balanced crystalloids, 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92 to 1.04; P=0.41). Balanced crystalloids resulted in a lower incidence of major adverse kidney events within 30 days than saline (4.7% vs. 5.6%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.95; P=0.01).
conclusionsAmong noncritically ill adults treated with intravenous fluids in the emergency department, there was no difference in hospital-free days between treatment with balanced crystalloids and treatment with saline. (Funded by the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and others; SALT-ED ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02614040 .).
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.