Described practices for assessing fluid resuscitation in acute hospital care

Abstract

Fluid resuscitation is a widely‐used treatment in acute and emergency medicine, however, the process used to perform a fluid assessment has never been studied. This qualitative study explored how acute physicians describe their approach to assessing for fluid resuscitation. 18 clinicians of varying grades consented to a semi‐structured interview. Transcripts were coded and analysed using thematic analysis. Participants described three subtypes of assessment; screening assessment, emergency assessment and formal assessment. Whether a patient was ‘sick’ was key to determining which assessment they would receive. Marked heterogeneity was noted in the assessment processes, particularly regarding the use of history‐taking. Further research is required to determine how the information gathered in these assessments is used to decide when fluid resuscitation is indicated.