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. 2024 Mar:202:102633.
doi: 10.1016/j.plefa.2024.102633. Epub 2024 Jul 20.

The efficacy and acceptability of anti-inflammatory omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements in sepsis management: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

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The efficacy and acceptability of anti-inflammatory omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements in sepsis management: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Ping-Tao Tseng et al. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Sepsis is a critical medical condition associated with high mortality for patients. Current pharmacological strategies for sepsis management or prevention had not achieved satisfactory results. The omega-3 fatty acids, with anti-inflammatory benefits, are considered to be promising agents for sepsis management/prevention. The aim of this network meta-analysis (NMA) is to compare the efficacy of various dosages and formulations of fish oil supplements for sepsis management and sepsis prevention. The current NMA consisted of two parts: (1) sepsis management and (2) sepsis prevention. The PubMed, ClinicalKey, Embase, ProQuest, Cochrane CENTRAL, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were systematically searched to date of February 22nd, 2024 for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). RCTs were eligible for inclusion if they enrolled participants with a diagnosis of sepsis or who with high risk for sepsis. All NMA procedures were conducted under the frequentist model. The primary outcomes assessed are (1) mortality rate in sepsis treatment or (2) incidence of sepsis in sepsis prevention. Our NMA, based on 28 RCTs and 1718 participants (mean age=51.6 years, mean female proportion=35.6 %), showed that (1) high dose parenteral fish oil supplement yield the lowest mortality rate in sepsis management in adult patients, and (2) high dose enteral fish oil supplement yield the lowest incidence of sepsis in pediatric patients. This study provides compelling evidence that high-dose fish oil supplements provide beneficial effects for both sepsis management and sepsis prevention. Our findings provide a preliminary rationale for future large-scale RCTs to investigate the role of fish oil supplementation in sepsis management or prevention.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory; Fish oil; Network meta-analysis; Omega-3 fatty acid; Polyunsaturated fatty acid; Randomized controlled trial; Sepsis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest Ping-Tao Tseng, Bing-Yan Zeng, Pin-Yang Yeh, Bing-Syuan Zeng, Brendon Stubbs, John S. Kuo, Cheuk-Kwan Sun, Yu-Shian Cheng, Yen-Wen Chen, Tien-Yu Chen, Yi-Cheng Wu, Yu-Kang Tu, Pao-Yen Lin, Dian-Jeng Li, Chih-Sung Liang, Mein-Woei Suen, Yi-Che Lee, Wei-Chieh Yang, Chih-Wei Hsu, Yow-Ling Shiue, and Kuan-Pin Su declared that there were no any competing interests existed.

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