JAMA Intern Med

Lactated Ringer solution linked to better outcomes than normal saline in patients with sickle cell disease

September 19, 2024

Lactated Ringer solution (LR) was associated with a small but significant improvement in hospital-free days and a lower risk of 30-day readmission compared with normal saline (NS), suggesting LR should be preferred for volume resuscitation in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) with vaso-occlusive episodes (VOEs).

• This multicenter cohort study analyzed 55,574 patient encounters (median age, 30 years) from the Premier PINC AI database, between 2016 to 2022. It focused on adults with SCD experiencing VOEs who received either LR (n = 3,495) or NS (n = 52,079) on the first day of hospitalization.
• Patients treated with LR had more hospital-free days (mean difference, 0.4 days), shorter hospital stays (mean difference, -0.4 days), and a lower risk of 30-day readmission (risk difference, -5.8%) compared with those treated with NS. The benefits of LR over NS were more pronounced in patients who received ≥2 liters of fluid.

Source:

Alwang AK, et al. (2024, September 9). JAMA Intern Med. Lactated Ringer vs Normal Saline Solution During Sickle Cell Vaso-Occlusive Episodes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39250114/