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Intravenous Fluid Resuscitation in The Management
Intravenous Fluid Resuscitation in The Management
CURRENT
OPINION Intravenous fluid resuscitation in the management
of acute pancreatitis
Jorge D. Machicado a and Georgios I. Papachristou b
Purpose of review
In the absence of proven effective pharmacologic therapy in acute pancreatitis, and given its simplicity,
wide availability, and perceived safety, intravenous fluid resuscitation remains the cornerstone in the early
treatment of acute pancreatitis. Herein, we will review the rationale of fluid therapy, critically appraise the
published literature, and summarize recent studies.
Recent findings
Several observational studies and small clinical trials have raised concern about the efficacy and safety of
aggressive fluid resuscitation. Early aggressive fluid therapy among acute pancreatitis patients with
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predicted mild severity appears to have the highest benefit, whereas aggressive resuscitation in patients
with predicted severe disease might be futile and deleterious. Lactated Ringer’s solution is the preferred
fluid type based on animal studies, clinical trials, and meta-analyses. There is a wide variation of fluid
resuscitation approaches in current guideline recommendations, quality indicators, and worldwide practice
patterns.
Summary
There is lack of high-quality data that supports the use of early aggressive fluid resuscitation. Large, well
designed, multicenter randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the optimal timing, fluid type,
volume, rate, and duration of fluid resuscitation in acute pancreatitis.
Keywords
acute pancreatitis, fluid resuscitation, intravenous fluids, therapy
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Table 1. Summary of observational studies evaluating the effects of aggressive fluid resuscitation in acute pancreatitis
Li, China, 2020 Retrospective, 912 3 ml/kg/h in first 6 h <3 ml/kg/h in first 6 h of Harmful, more NPPV in
[23 ] single center of general wards general wards severe AP, and
&
hemoconcentration
AP, acute pancreatitis; LOS, length of stay; NPPV, noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation; OF, organ failure; SIRS, systemic inflammatory response syndrome.
single-center retrospective studies, published over a therapeutic window for ‘early fluid resuscitation’.
decade ago, showed a beneficial effect of early resus- When using a 24 h window, individuals under-resus-
citation with ‘a faster rate’ in clinical acute pancrea- citated in the first few hours who receive larger
titis outcomes [19,20]. They reported that early compensatory fluid amounts afterwards cannot be
resuscitation was associated with lower mortality differentiated from those aggressively resuscitated
[19], as well as with fewer ICU admissions, shorter earlier. To prevent this, the research community has
hospitalization, and lower prevalence of organ fail- recently shifted the definition of ‘early resuscita-
ure [20]. In a subgroup analysis by severity at admis- tion’ towards a shorter therapeutic window of 4–
sion, a positive effect was only observed in patients 6 h from initial hospital presentation. This idea was
with mild disease, suggesting that severe disease tested in an international four-center retrospective
may not be reversible with early fluid resuscitation study of over 1000 subjects with acute pancreatitis,
[20]. Even though these studies did not focus on a which showed that aggressive fluid resuscitation
specific fluid rate or amount, larger volumes were within the first 4 h (>1 l) was independently associ-
administered during the first 24 h in the early group ated with less need for interventions, whereas
(3.5–5 l), compared with the late group (<2.5 l), aggressive resuscitation over 24 h (>4.3 l) was asso-
which supported the notion of early aggressive fluid ciated with higher risk of local complications [25].
resuscitation. In contrast, other observational stud- Thus, two phases of fluid resuscitation can be delin-
ies have raised concerns on the safety of early aggres- eated from the time of initial hospital presentation
sive fluid resuscitation in acute pancreatitis. These (Fig. 1).
reports have shown that aggressive fluid resuscita-
tion of more than 4 l within the first 24 h of acute
pancreatitis management, is associated with worse RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS
outcomes, including development of acute respira- COMPARING FLUID RESUSCITATION
&
tory failure [21,22,23 ], acute kidney injury [22,24 ],
&
STRATEGIES
and local pancreatic complications [22,25]. The impact of different fluid resuscitation strate-
The above studies share similar limitations that gies on acute pancreatitis outcomes has been stud-
need to be considered in the interpretation of their ied in four randomized controlled trial (RCTs)
conclusions. First, causality cannot be established in (Table 2). All these studies had small sample sizes,
an observational study, and it is possible that more included heterogeneous populations, adminis-
aggressive fluid resuscitation was a response to clin- tered various fluid protocols at different time
ical deterioration. Early mechanisms of severity, points, and were only powered to surrogate out-
such as vascular leakage and fluid sequestration comes. We will summarize the design and findings
manifest clinically as hypovolemia, and critical care of these studies, but more importantly, appraise
protocols mandate increasing fluid infusion in these their limitations to understand their internal valid-
patients, which may further contribute to their ity, generalizability, and potential lessons for
clinical deterioration (reverse causation bias) [26]. future study design.
Such bias remains on observational studies despite In the first RCT of Mao et al. [27], 76 patients
the use of multivariable analysis controlling for with severe acute pancreatitis based on the former
potential confounders, and the only method to Atlanta Classification and signs of volume deficit
equalize this bias on treatment arms is through were enrolled within 72 h of admission at a single-
randomization. Second, most of these studies used center ICU in China and randomized to a rapid (10–
& &
a retrospective design [21,23 ,24 ,25], and it is well 15 ml/kg/h) or controlled (5–10 ml/kg/h) volume
known that clinical data derived from medical expansion approach. Compared with those in the
records may not reflect the precise details of fluid control arm, patients receiving rapid expansion had
therapy and outcomes, raising concerns for misclas- significantly higher rates of mechanical ventilation
sification bias. Third, these studies were conducted (94 vs. 65%), abdominal compartment syndrome
at large referral centers, accepting and treating high (72 vs. 32%), sepsis (64 vs. 38%), and mortality
volumes of sick acute pancreatitis patients, which (31 vs. 10%). Methodological concerns with the
limits the generalizability of their results to larger design of this RCT include limited description of
acute pancreatitis populations. Finally, the inter- the randomization sequence, allocation conceal-
ventions included in the aggressive resuscitation ment, blinding, time of intervention, sample size
group were heterogeneous within sites and across calculation, and type of analysis (intention to treat
studies, reflecting different physician preferences on vs. per protocol); which makes the study highly
fluid onset, rates, type, and cointerventions. biased and limit its interval validity. Furthermore,
One important lesson from the above observa- the study did not describe the interventions in detail
tional studies has been with regards to the (onset, duration), and used different types of fluid
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FIGURE 1. Comparison of early and late phases of fluid resuscitation. AKI, acute kidney injury; OF, organ failure; SIRS,
systemic inflammatory response syndrome.
solutions in both treatment arms (colloids and crys- within 24 h of admission, and were infused a mix of
talloids). crystalloids and colloids with total volume deter-
Mao et al. [28] conducted a second single-center mined based on body weight, admission hematocrit,
RCT, comparing goal-directed fluid therapy targeted and goal hematocrit. Compared with controls, the
to rapid hemodilution (hematocrit <35%) vs. slow rapid hemodilution arm was associated with
hemodilution (35%) at 48 h, among 115 subjects increased rates of sepsis (79 vs. 58%) and mortality
with severe acute pancreatitis based on the former (44 vs. 15%). The major issue of this study was the use
Atlanta Classification. Participants were randomized of quasi-randomization based on patient’s age, in
Table 2. Summary of randomized controlled trials comparing different intravenous fluid resuscitation strategies in acute
pancreatitis
Author, country, Randomi- Aggressive Nonaggressive Effect of early aggressive
year Design N Participants zationa resuscitation resuscitation resuscitation
Mao, China, Superiority 76 Severe AP 72 h Rapid volume Controlled volume Harmful, more sepsis,
2009 [27] expansion expansion (5– mortality, mechanical
(10–15 ml/kg/h) 10 ml/kg/h) ventilation, and ACS
Mao, China, Superiority 115 Severe AP 24 h Rapid hemodilution Slow hemodilution Harmful, more sepsis, and
2010 [28] with goal Hct with goal Hct mortality
<35% at 48 h 35% at 48 h
Wu, USA, Factorial 40 Any severity 6h Goal-directed with LR or NS fluid Similar, SIRS,
2011 [29] 20 ml/kg bolus therapy adjusted and CRP at 24 h
þ 3 or 1.5 ml/ by treating
kg/h of LR or NS physician
Buxbaum, USA, Superiority 60 Predicted 4h 20 ml/kg bolus þ 10 ml/kg Beneficial, less composite
2017 [30] mild AP 3 ml/kg/h of LR bolus þ 1.5 ml/ outcome, SIRS, and
kg/h of LR hemocroncentration
ACS, abdominal compartment syndrome; AP, acute pancreatitis; CRP, C-reactive protein; Hct, hematocrit; LR, lactated Ringer’s solution; NS, normal saline; SIRS,
systemic inflammatory response syndrome.
a
Maximal time interval allowed from time of initial hospital presentation to randomization.
which the treatment assignment was predictable with SIRS, used a not validated outcome, was
before randomization and may have influenced in unpowered to detect differences in relevant clinical
the choice of intervention (selection bias). Other outcomes, and did not mask physicians.
limitations included lack of description on blinding, Based on the above studies, aggressive fluid
sample size calculation, primary outcome, and type resuscitation can be defined as 20 ml/kg bolus fol-
of analysis; which raises concerns for bias and inter- lowed by 3 ml/kg/h infusion rate. That means
nal validity of the study. approximately 1500 ml bolus followed by 200 ml/
In a factorial RCT of 40 acute pancreatitis kg/h infusion rate in an average adult weighting
patients of any severity enrolled within 6 h of initial 70 kg. Overall, the results of these RCTs have not
hospital presentation at three US centers, Wu et al. been conclusive about the role of early aggressive
[29] compared four different fluid resuscitation fluid resuscitation in acute pancreatitis; however,
strategies – physician-directed approach with lac- this strategy appears to be effective in patients with
tated Ringer’s solution or normal saline vs. goal- predicted mild disease and may be harmful in those
directed approach with lactated Ringer’s solution with predicted severe acute pancreatitis.
or normal saline starting with a 20 ml/kg bolus þ 3
and 1.5 ml/kg/h. The primary outcome was change
of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) SELECTION OF FLUID TYPE
at 24 h, and the secondary outcome was C-reactive Early animal studies suggested that colloids might be
protein (CRP) at 24 h. The study had initially superior to crystalloids due to less risk for extravascu-
planned to enroll 90 participants, but was termi- lar leakage and better intravascular flow [13,15].
nated earlier, after interim analysis of 40 subjects However, two RCTs that compared 6% hydroxyethyl
showed that 1280 subjects would be needed for starch with crystalloids in severe acute pancreatitis,
sufficient power. There was no difference of SIRS showed no difference in mortality across treatment
reduction at 24 h, CRP level at 24 h, and clinical arms, and higher risk of multiple organ failure with
outcomes between those who received physician- colloids in one study [31,32]. Hydroxyethyl starch
directed and goal-directed fluid resuscitation. Sig- also lacked any benefit and was associated with seri-
nificantly, there was no difference in the total fluid ous adverse events in large, adequately powered,
volume received by patients in both treatment arms RCTs of critically ill patients with sepsis [33–35].
(4.5 l), which reflects the standardized use of early Therefore, crystalloids are the standard of care for
aggressive fluid resuscitation by treating physicians. fluid resuscitation of acute pancreatitis.
Major limitations lay in its early termination, small In-vitro and animal studies have shown that
size, insufficient power for relevant clinical out- lactated Ringer’s solution has antiinflammatory
comes, and open-label approach. properties, reduces trypsin activity, provides extra-
In a recent single US center RCT conducted by cellular calcium, and lowers pancreatic acidosis;
Buxbaum et al. [30] 60 acute pancreatitis patients which offer theoretical advantages of lactated Ring-
&& &
with predicted mild severity were randomized er’s solution over other crystalloids [36 ,37 ,38].
within 4 h of initial hospital presentation to either Three RCTs have compared lactated Ringer’s solu-
aggressive (20 ml/kg bolus þ 3 ml/kg/h) or conserva- tion with normal saline, and have shown that lac-
tive (10 ml/kg bolus þ 1.5 ml/kg/h) fluid resuscita- tated Ringer’s solution has a greater impact on SIRS
&& &&
tion with lactated Ringer’s solution. The authors and CRP reduction [29,36 ,39 ]. Although these
measured a composite outcome that included studies were not powered for relevant clinical out-
improvement in laboratory parameters from base- comes, two recent meta-analyses have proposed
line (hematocrit, BUN, and creatinine), decreased both fluid types have a similar effect in mortality
& &&
pain level, and oral tolerance within 36 h. Subjects and organ failure [37 ,40 ]. Given its antiinflamma-
assigned to the aggressive fluid resuscitation tory properties, lactated Ringer’s solution is sug-
approach achieved the primary outcome more fre- gested as the preferred fluid type for initial fluid
quently than controls (70 vs. 42%), and had lower resuscitation in acute pancreatitis, but multicenter
risk of SIRS (15 vs. 27%) and hemoconcentration (11 RCTs adequately powered to study relevant clinical
vs. 36%). No patients developed volume overload, outcomes are needed.
despite receiving a median of 5.6 l in the aggressive
resuscitation arm and 3.9 l in the conservative arm
during the first 24 h. This trial had several strengths GUIDELINE RECOMMENDATIONS
with regards to randomization methods, blinding of In the absence of conclusive high-quality data, soci-
patients, clear definition of interventions, study ety guidelines have made different recommendations
power, and use of intention to treat analysis. Lim- on fluid resuscitation strategies for acute pancreatitis.
itations include that the study excluded patients The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)
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strongly recommended the use of aggressive fluid require further validation in clinical data before
resuscitation with 250–500 ml/h of crystalloids in implementation.
the first 12–24 h [41]. However, such an aggressive
approach of 6–12 l in 24 h is not evidence-based and
could be harmful in a subgroup of patients. In con- WORLDWIDE UTILIZATION
trast, the International Association of Pancreatology/ There is great variability on fluid administration
American Pancreatic Association (IPA/APA) and the patterns in clinical practice, which is explained by
American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) temporal trends, geographic variations, and per-
&&
have made conditional recommendations about sonal preferences [46,47 ]. In a recent, large, pro-
using ‘goal-directed’ fluid resuscitation based on spective, multinational cohort of 1612 acute
low quality of the evidence and weak agreement pancreatitis patients (APPRENTICE), physicians in
&
[42,43 ]. With regard to fluid type, both the ACG India, Latin America, and North America adminis-
and IPA/APA recommend using lactated Ringer’s tered more fluids over the initial 24 h (3–3.2 l),
&&
solution, whereas the AGA does not support a specific compared with those in Europe (2.5 l) [47 ]. There
&
crystalloid type [41,42,43 ]. was also great variability in the amount of fluids
administered across centers within the same conti-
nent, and within the same center. Most patients in
QUALITY INDICATORS Europe (77%) and India (92%) were treated with
Quality indicators have been recently developed by lactated Ringer’s solution, whereas normal saline
two different panels of US experts to monitor the was still more frequently used in the United States
&&
performance of hospitals and clinicians providing (51%) and Latin America (61%) [47 ].
& &
care to acute pancreatitis patients [44 ,45 ]. Both Based on careful review of the above data and
panels agree that fluid resuscitation with lactated due to lack of consensus and uniformity adminis-
Ringer’s solution is preferred and should be titrated tering fluids, we herein propose a practical approach
according to interval assessments every 8–12 h of for early fluid therapy in acute pancreatitis (Table 3).
vital signs, urine output, BUN, and hematocrit.
One panel emphasized on the onset of fluid resusci-
&
tation within 2 h of diagnosis [44 ], and the other on CONCLUSION
aggressive hydration with at least 3 ml/kg/h unless Intravenous fluid resuscitation remains the back-
&
contraindicated [45 ]. These proposed thresholds bone of acute pancreatitis management. Aggressive
represent desired standards of care; however, they fluid resuscitation appears to be beneficial when
0267-1379 Copyright ß 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. www.co-gastroenterology.com 415
36. de-Madaria E, Herrera-Marante I, Gonzalez-Camacho V, et al. Fluid resuscita- 42. Working Group IAP/APA Acute Pancreatitis Guidelines. IAP/APA evidence-
&& tion with lactated Ringer’s solution vs normal saline in acute pancreatitis: a based guidelines for the management of acute pancreatitis. Pancreatology
triple-blind, randomized, controlled trial. United European Gastroenterol J 2013; 13(4 Suppl 2):e1–e15.
2018; 6:63–72. 43. Crockett SD, Wani S, Gardner TB, et al. American Gastroenterological
The randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 40 acute pancreatitis subjects rando- & Association Institute guideline on initial management of acute pancreatitis.
mized within 24 h of symptom onset demonstrated a reduction of 48 and 72-h C- Gastroenterology 2018; 154:1096–1101.
reactive protein with lactated Ringer’s solution compared with normal saline. The set of guidelines published by the American Gastroenterological Association
37. Khatua B, Yaron JR, El-Kurdi B, et al. Ringer’s lactate prevents early organ was based on a well conducted systematic review of the literature.
& failure by providing extracellular calcium. J Clin Med 2020; 9:263. 44. Vivian E, Cler L, Conwell D, et al. Acute pancreatitis Task Force on quality:
The meta-analysis of three RCTs found that lactated Ringer’s solution reduced & development of quality indicators for acute pancreatitis management. Am J
pancreatic necrosis, but not organ failure, in comparison with normal saline. Gastroenterol 2019; 114:1322–1342.
38. Hoque R, Farooq A, Ghani A, et al. Lactate reduces liver and pancreatic injury in The multidisciplinary panel of 20 US experts used a RAND/UCLA Delphi meth-
Toll-like receptor- and inflammasome-mediated inflammation via GPR81-mediated olodology and developed 40 quality indicators and performance threshold targets
suppression of innate immunity. Gastroenterology 2014; 146:1763–1774. for acute pancreatitis management, which can serve to monitor the quality of care
39. Choosakul S, Harinwan K, Chirapongsathorn S, et al. Comparison of normal provided to patients with acute pancreatitis.
&& saline versus Lactated Ringer’s solution for fluid resuscitation in patients with 45. Ketwaroo G, Sealock RJ, Freedman S, et al. Quality of care indicators in
mild acute pancreatitis, a randomized controlled trial. Pancreatology 2018; & patients with acute pancreatitis. Dig Dis Sci 2019; 64:2514–2526.
S1424-3903:30083–30088. The panel of seven US expert pancreatologists used a RAND/UCLA Delphi
The RCT of 47 acute pancreatitis subjects randomized within 1 h of presentation to approach and proposed 22 quality indicators for acute pancreatitis diagnosis,
the emergency department showed that lactated Ringer’s solution reduced 24-h risk stratification, and pharmacological and endoscopic therapy.
systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) compared with normal saline. 46. Hamada S, Masamune A, Shimosegawa T. Transition of early-phase treatment
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&& pancreatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Dig Dis 2018; 19:335–341. World J Gastroenterol 2017; 23:2826–2831.
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cohort studies, showed that lactated Ringer’s solution decreased the odds of && management, and outcomes of acute pancreatitis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol
persistent SIRS at 24 h compared with normal saline. 2019; 18:1567–1575.
41. Tenner S, Baillie J, DeWitt J, Vege SS. American College of Gastroenterology The large prospective multinational study of 1612 patients with acute pancreatitis,
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108:1400–14151416. outcomes across continents.