SEPSIS CONTROLLED WITH FISH OIL SUPPLEMENTATION
Intravenously administered omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish oil have proven beneficial for intensive care patents with sepsis - a potentially lethal blood infection. Researchers at the University of Southampton in England led by Dr Philip Calder randomised 23 patients hospitalised with sepsis in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Hospital Padre Américo in Portugal to receive a parenteral lipid emulsion with or without fish oil for up to six days. They found that patients who received fish oil had reduced blood levels of inflammatory agents, improved lung function and earlier hospital discharge. "This is the first study of this particular fish oil solution in septic patients in the ICU. The positive results are important since they indicate that the use of such an emulsion in this group of patients will improve clinical outcomes, in comparison with the standard mix," said Calder. The findings were published in the online journal Critical Care.