title: Continuous infusion or bolus injection of loop diuretics for congestive heart failure?
abstract: Loop diuretics are widely used in acute heart failure. However, there is controversy about the superiority of continuous infusion over bolus administration. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening 30 databases, we identified four systematic reviews including 11 pertinent randomized controlled trials overall. We combined the evidence using meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings following the GRADE approach. We concluded continuous administration of loop diuretics probably reduces mortality and length of stay compared to intermittent administration in patients with acute heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Salud Basada en Evidencia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Lira 63, Santiago Centro, Chile. Email: pasepulveda@med.puc.cl.
authors.forename: Patricio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zepeda
authors.affiliation: Programa de Salud Basada en Evidencia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rain
authors.affiliation: Programa de Salud Basada en Evidencia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Departamento de Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sepúlveda
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D049994:Sodium Potassium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D049994:Sodium Potassium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors