Association Between Early Intravenous Fluids Provided by Paramedics and Subsequent In-Hospital Mortality Among Patients With Sepsis.

IMPORTANCE

Early administration of intravenous fluids is recommended for all patients with sepsis, but the association of this treatment with mortality may depend on the patient's initial blood pressure.

OBJECTIVE

To test the association between early administration of intravenous fluids by paramedics and in-hospital mortality among patients with sepsis, accounting for patients' initial blood pressure.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cohort study in which multiple analyses were conducted using a 1-year (from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016) cohort of 1871 patients with sepsis who were transported to the hospital by paramedics from a large emergency medical services system in Alberta, Canada. Multivariable logistic regression and a propensity-matched analysis adjusting for baseline patient characteristics were used to minimize confounding by indication and test the association between early administration of intravenous fluids by paramedics and in-hospital mortality. Nonparametric additive regression was used to assess the association of early administration of intravenous fluids with prehospital and in-hospital treatment times.

EXPOSURES

Intravenous fluids administered by paramedics at the point of first contact and during transportation to the hospital.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included prehospital and emergency department treatment times.

RESULTS

A total of 1871 patients with sepsis were identified (955 women and 916 men; median age, 77 years [interquartile range, 64-85 years]), with an overall in-hospital mortality of 28.2% (n = 528). More than half of patients (1015 [54.2%]) received intravenous fluids from paramedics; the median volume provided was 400 mL (interquartile range, 250-500 mL). The association of intravenous fluids with mortality depended on the patient's initial systolic blood pressure (range, 42-222 mm Hg; P < .001 for interaction). For example, in a typical patient with an initial systolic blood pressure of 100 mm Hg, intravenous fluids were associated with decreased mortality (odds ratio, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.56-0.95), but for a typical patient with the median initial systolic blood pressure of 125 mm Hg, intravenous fluids were not associated with in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 1.41; 95% CI, 0.81-2.44). Similar results were obtained in the propensity-matched analysis. The administration of intravenous fluids was associated with increased prehospital time compared with patients who did not receive intravenous fluids (median difference, 3.2 minutes; 95% CI, 1.7-4.7 minutes) but was not associated with time to assessment in the emergency department (median difference, 2.4 minutes; 95% CI, -2.4 to 7.3 minutes).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Intravenous fluids provided by paramedics were associated with reduced in-hospital mortality for patients with sepsis and hypotension but not for those with a higher initial systolic blood pressure.