Guidance
This guideline covers the general principles for managing intravenous (IV) fluid therapy in hospital inpatients aged 16 and over with a range of conditions. It aims to help prescribers understand the optimal amount and composition of IV fluids to be administered and the best rate at which to give them, to improve fluid prescribing and outcomes among people in hospital. It does not cover pregnant women, and those with severe liver or renal disease, diabetes or burns.
In May 2017, some research recommendations that had become outdated since original publication were stood down and deleted.
Recommendations
This guideline includes recommendations on:
- principles and protocols for IV fluid therapy
- assessment and monitoring of the person’s likely fluid and electrolyte needs
- IV fluid resuscitation
- IV fluids for routine maintenance alone
- training and education for all healthcare professionals involved in prescribing and delivering IV fluid therapy
Who is it for?
- Healthcare professionals
- People who receive IV fluid therapy in hospital and their families and carers
Is this guideline up to date?
June 2020: We have found no new evidence that affects the recommendations. For more information, see the surveillance decision.
Guideline development process
How we develop NICE guidelines
This guideline was previously called intravenous fluid therapy in adults in hospital.
Your responsibility
The recommendations in this guideline represent the view of NICE, arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence available. When exercising their judgement, professionals and practitioners are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences and values of their patients or the people using their service. It is not mandatory to apply the recommendations, and the guideline does not override the responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families and carers or guardian.
All problems (adverse events) related to a medicine or medical device used for treatment or in a procedure should be reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using the Yellow Card Scheme.
Local commissioners and providers of healthcare have a responsibility to enable the guideline to be applied when individual professionals and people using services wish to use it. They should do so in the context of local and national priorities for funding and developing services, and in light of their duties to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, to advance equality of opportunity and to reduce health inequalities. Nothing in this guideline should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with complying with those duties.
Commissioners and providers have a responsibility to promote an environmentally sustainable health and care system and should assess and reduce the environmental impact of implementing NICE recommendations wherever possible.