Delaying initiation of diuretics in critically ill patients with recent vasopressor use and high positive fluid balance

Abstract

Background: Fluid overload is associated with poor outcomes. Clinicians might be reluctant to initiate diuretic therapy for patients with recent vasopressor use. We estimated the effect on 30-day mortality of withholding or delaying diuretics after vasopressor use in patients with probable fluid overload. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adults admitted to ICUs of an academic medical centre between 2008 and 2012. Using a database of time-stamped patient records, we followed individuals from the time they first required vasopressor support and had >5 L cumulative positive fluid balance (plus additional inclusion/exclusion criteria). We compared mortality under usual care (the mix of care actually delivered in the cohort) and treatment strategies restricting diuretic initiation during and for various durations after vasopressor use. We adjusted for baseline and time-varying confounding via inverse probability weighting. Results: The study included 1501 patients, and the observed 30-day mortality rate was 11%. After adjusting for observed confounders, withholding diuretics for at least 24 h after stopping most recent vasopressor use was estimated to increase 30-day mortality rate by 2.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9–3.6%) compared with usual care. Data were consistent with moderate harm or slight benefit from withholding diuretic initiation only during concomitant vasopressor use; the estimated mortality rate increased by 0.5% (95% CI, –0.2% to 1.1%). Conclusions: Withholding diuretic initiation after vasopressor use in patients with high cumulative positive balance (>5 L) was estimated to increase 30-day mortality. These findings are hypothesis generating and should be tested in a clinical trial.