Fluids are one of the most common treatments given to patients in the hospital. Fluids are especially important in treating patients with sepsis. Multiple clinical studies have compared the two main types of fluids used in sepsis (normal saline and balanced crystalloids). However, these studies have not found a clear benefit of one type of fluid versus the other. Which fluid should be given to which patient is an essential question because of the ubiquity of this intervention. Even a small difference in mortality could drastically change the standards of care given the national (and worldwide) scale of this intervention. The investigators have developed an algorithm that uses bedside vital signs (temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure) to identify a group of patients (Group D) who have a significant mortality benefit from balanced crystalloids. The study randomizes adult patients admitted through emergency departments across 6 Emory hospitals belonging to Group D to intervention versus usual care. The intervention arm involves a prompt to clinicians to use balanced crystalloids rather than normal saline.
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Thirty-day mortality
Timeframe: 30 days