Less Saline Could Lead to Fewer Kidney Complications and Increased Survival

Intravenous saline use causes more kidney complications and decreases survival rates compared with balanced crystalloids (lactated Ringer’s solution or Plasma-Lyte A [Baxter]), according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, Tenn.

The researchers found that patients experience better outcomes when given the balanced crystalloids, which most closely resemble components of the liquid part of blood, than when given saline, which contains higher amounts of