Could a glass of water replace IV fluids in the ICU? small study investigates
NCT ID NCT03951519
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This pilot study tested whether giving water through a feeding tube works as well as IV saline for fluid expansion in 50 ICU patients on ventilators with low blood pressure. Researchers measured changes in heart function and blood flow. The goal was to gather initial data to design larger studies, not to prove which method is better.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- oral water
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that giving water through a feeding tube is a safe and effective way to help stabilize blood pressure in ICU patients, potentially reducing side effects from IV fluids.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study with only 50 patients, so results may not apply to all ICU patients. The study is designed to gather information, not to prove that water is better than saline.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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50 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2019
- Finished
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Jan 2020
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Close family member has given written consent for patient included in emergency * Intubated-ventilated patient in controlled volume mode * Normothermal patient (36.5-37.5°C) * Adult patient in intensive care for whom the attending physician has decided to give fluid expansion because of acute circulatory failure (systolic blood pressure \< 90 mmHg, and/or mean blood pressure \< 65 mmHg, and/or the need for infusion of vasopressor amines, and/or skin mottles, and/or diuresis \< 0.5 mL/kg/h for a duration of ≥ 2 hours, and/or arterial lactate level \> 2 mmol/L) (21), * Patient with a variation OF SV over 10% with PLR, * Echogenic patient, * Patient with a regular sinus rhythm, * Patient with a nasogastric tube. Exclusion Criteria: * Person subject to a legal protection measure (curatorship, guardianship) * Person subject to a measure to safeguard justice * Condition contraindicating the use of the oral route, * Patient not affiliated or not covered by the national health system, * Pregnant, parturient or breastfeeding woman, * Hemodynamically unstable patient (variation of more than 10% in blood pressure), * Arrhythmia-like rhythm disorder by atrial fibrillation, * Modification of therapies (sedation, catecholamines) during the study period, * Modification of the ventilatory parameters. * Heart failure * Oedemato-ascitic insufficiency of cirrhosis * Changes in drug doses
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Chu Dijon Bourogne
Dijon, 21000, France