Intravenous fish oil reduced delirium days in intensive-care patients with sepsis
Among intensive-care patients with sepsis, daily intravenous fish oil shortened delirium duration compared with placebo. The abstract does not establish a mortality benefit or show how large the duration difference was.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Patients receiving intravenous fish oil had fewer delirium days than placebo recipients. Their intensive-care stays and time receiving mechanical ventilation were also shorter. Mortality did not differ statistically between groups. The abstract reports significance tests without outcome differences or confidence intervals, leaving the size and precision of these effects unclear.
The trial involved a single center, and the abstract omits effect sizes and safety results. Its intravenous treatment in critically ill patients cannot establish benefits from oral supplements or use in other populations.
What researchers found
Delirium duration
Intravenous fish oil versus placebo during the first 10 admission days; the difference was statistically significant, but its size and confidence interval were not reported.
The outcome was duration
The primary question concerned how many days patients experienced delirium during early admission. A shorter duration is a different outcome from preventing delirium altogether, despite the abstract's concluding language about reducing risk.
Mortality remained uncertain
The trial did not detect a statistically significant mortality difference. That result does not establish equivalent survival between treatments. Without group death counts or a confidence interval, the abstract cannot show how precise that comparison was.
The original publication
Treatment of delirium in intensive care patients with sepsis using daily intravenous infusions with omega-3 fatty acids.
Wang DQ, Hu FB, Wang W et al.
Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40643182
- Record checked
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