Major African clinical trial ends early due to high mortality in children

A large African trial testing the routine use of rapid fluid bolus resuscitation in children with shock has been stopped early because of the number of deaths in children during the two year study.

Doctors have reacted with surprise at the high mortality seen during the FEAST study (Fluid Expansion as Supportive Therapy) in which 3170 children in shock caused by severe infection were assessed in hospitals in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania over two years.

Over the past 20 years the technique of fluid bolus resuscitation has been standard practice in children with shock due to severe infections, such as septicaemia or malaria. The technique is indicated in most international emergency paediatric guidelines including those by the World Health Organization (WHO).

However, the FEAST trial, which was...