Hydroxyethyl starch solutions and patient harm

Hydroxyethyl starch solutions and patient harm.

On Jan 26, 2018, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) suspended the marketing authorisations of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) solutions across the European Union.1 These intravenous solutions are often used for plasma volume replacement following acute blood loss. Evidence from highquality, investigator-initiated clinical trials in kidney donors, patients with sepsis, and in critically ill patients ...

Concerns over use of hydroxyethyl starch solutions

Should hydroxyethyl starch solutions be totally banned?

The choice of which intravenous solution to prescribe remains a matter of considerable debate in intensive care units around the world. Trends have been moving away from using hydroxyethyl starch solutions following concerns about safety. But are the available data sufficient to clearly assess the risk-benefit balance for all patients, and is there enough evidence of harm to justify removing th...

Patient-centered outcomes and trials of hydroxyethyl starch

Meybohm and colleagues [1] propose that hydroxyethyl starch (HES) may be used safely in hypovolemic patients by applying a clinical algorithm and by restricting the dose administered. The authors question the validity of the results of the two trials that constitute over 60% of current data [2,3] and misleadingly state that in the Crystalloid vs. Hydroxyethyl Starch Trial (CHEST), HES administr...

Assessment report for solutions for infusion containing hydroxyethyl starch