Study suggests that fluid, sodium restrictions have no effect on weight loss in ADHF patients
A clinical trial of 75 patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) suggests that aggressive fluid and sodium restriction has no effect on weight loss or clinical stability at three days but was associated with an increase in perceived thirst, according to a study published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Sodium and fluid restrictions are nonpharmacologic measures widely used to treat ADHF despite a lack of clear evidence of their therapeutic effect, the authors write in the study background. "We conclude that sodium and water restriction in patients admitted for ADHF are unnecessary," Graziella Badin Aliti, R.N., Sc.D., of the Hospital de Clìnicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and colleagues comment in the study. The clinical trial compared the effects of a fluid-restricted (maximum fluid intake, 800 mL/d) and sodium-restricted (maximum dietary intake, 800 mg/d) diet in an intervention group (IG) versus a diet with no suc...