20% Human Albumin Solution Fluid Bolus Administration Therapy in Patients after Cardiac Surgery-II

Abstract

HAS FLAIR-II is a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial, looking at patients who require fluid bolus therapy (FBT) after cardiac surgery. FBT after cardiac surgery is a common intervention used to correct hypotension +/- optimise cardiac function.

There are several types of intravenous fluid used for fluid resuscitation, which are broadly classified into crystalloids and colloids. After cardiac surgery, patients receive a combination of crystalloid and the colloid albumin in the form of 4% albumin. 20% albumin corrects low blood volume more rapidly and requires less volume to do so than crystalloid fluids and 4% albumin, and by doing so reduces the amount of chloride and fluid the body receives. This may avoid harm associated with chloride and large fluid administrations.

Participants will be allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either the treatment group (FBT with 20% albumin) or to usual care (FBT with whatever fluid the treating clinicians consider appropriate and no use of 20% albumin in the first 7 days). We will evaluate the duration of vasopressor use in those who received 20% albumin compared to those that received usual care. We plan to enroll 470 patients post cardiac surgery from Intensive Care Units in Australia.