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. 2012 Jun 13;2012(6):CD009204.
doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009204.pub2.

Sodium bicarbonate supplements for treating acute kidney injury

Jonathan Hewitt  1 , Mark Uniacke, Navjyot K Hansi, Gopalakrishnan Venkat-Raman, Kathryn McCarthy
Affiliations

Sodium bicarbonate supplements for treating acute kidney injury

Jonathan Hewitt et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. .

Abstract

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common, serious, but potentially treatable condition. Because AKI is often associated with acidosis, it has become common practice to recommend administration of sodium bicarbonate to correct acid imbalance.

Objectives: To assess the benefits and harms of the use of sodium bicarbonate for people with AKI. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality, and secondary outcome measures were patients' need for renal replacement therapy; return to baseline kidney function; and overall survival.

Search methods: In November 2011 we searched the Cochrane Renal Group's Specialised Register using keywords relevant to this review. The register is populated using searches of Ovid MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE and handsearching records from renal-related journals and conference proceedings.

Selection criteria: All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the use of sodium bicarbonate supplements, administered by any route, for the treatment of adults with AKI were to be included. The search strategy did not restrict inclusion based on an upper age limit or publication language. We did not consider inclusion of studies that investigated use of sodium bicarbonate for AKI prevention.

Data collection and analysis: All authors planned to independently assess and extracted information. Information was to be collected on methods, participants, interventions and outcomes. Results were to be expressed as risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous outcomes or as mean differences (MD) for continuous data with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Main results: Although our literature search identified four studies, none of these met our predetermined selection criteria. Hence, no suitable studies were identified for inclusion in this review.

Authors' conclusions: We found no RCT evidence - supportive or otherwise - for the use of sodium bicarbonate for people with AKI. We concluded that there is an urgent need for well conducted RCTs in this area.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no known conflicts of interest.

Figures

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Study flow diagram
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Update of

References

References to studies excluded from this review

Brito‐Ashurst 2009 {published data only}
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    1. Brito‐Ashurst I, Varagunam M, Yaqoob MM. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) to study the effect of bicarbonate supplementation on the rate of progression of renal failure and nutritional status in chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 4 & 5 patients [abstract]. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology 2006;17(Abstracts):37A.
Sitzwohl 2009 {published data only}
    1. Sitzwohl C, Hrner E, Hpfl M, Chiari A, Weinstabl C, Kettner S. Renal protection after traumatic rhabdomyolysis ‐ is alkalinization of the urine better than forced diuresis alone? [abstract]. Critical Care Medicine 2009;37(12 Suppl):A472. [EMBASE: 70192335]

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References to other published versions of this review

Hewitt 2011
    1. Hewitt J, Uniacke M, Hansi NK, McCarthy K, Venkat‐Raman G. Sodium bicarbonate supplements for treating acute kidney injury. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 7. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD009204] - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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