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Review
. 2018 Feb 12;18(1):e7150.
doi: 10.5867/medwave.2018.01.7149.

Is parenteral hydration beneficial in terminally ill cancer patients?

[Article in Spanish, English]
José Canihuante  1 , Pedro Pérez  2
Affiliations
Review

Is parenteral hydration beneficial in terminally ill cancer patients?

[Article in Spanish, English]
José Canihuante et al. Medwave. .

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Introduction: It is common for terminally ill patients to have a reduced fluid intake, which often results in a need for more medical support. However, it is not clear if this measure has a real clinical impact.

Methods: To answer this question we used Epistemonikos, the largest database of systematic reviews in health, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, among others. We extracted data from the systematic reviews, reanalyzed data from primary studies and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach.

Results and conclusions: We identified four systematic reviews including 51 studies overall, from which three were randomized trials. We concluded the administration of parenteral hydration might make little or no difference in terms of survival and quality of life in terminally ill cancer patients, and that it is not clear whether it has any other benefit because the certainty of the evidence is very low.

Introducción: Es común que los pacientes en estado terminal tengan una reducida ingesta de líquidos, lo que muchas veces repercute en una necesidad de mayor apoyo médico. Sin embargo, no está claro si esta medida tiene un impacto clínico real.

Métodos: Para responder esta pregunta utilizamos Epistemonikos, la mayor base de datos de revisiones sistemáticas en salud, la cual es mantenida mediante búsquedas en múltiples fuentes de información, incluyendo MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, entre otras. Extrajimos los datos desde las revisiones identificadas, reanalizamos los datos de los estudios primarios y preparamos una tabla de resumen de los resultados utilizando el método GRADE.

Resultados y conclusiones: Concluimos que la administración de hidratación parenteral podría hacer poca o ninguna diferencia en la sobrevida y en la calidad de vida de los pacientes oncológicos terminales, y que no está claro si tiene algún otro beneficio porque la certeza de la evidencia es muy baja.

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