Fluid Therapy: Friend or Foe?

Many questions surround fluid bolus therapy and subsequent fluid management in neonatal critical care as they do in pediatric and adult critical care. This review explores the known key clinical aspects of fluid bolus therapy and fluid balance in the first 7 days of life and provides suggestions for further work in this area. It draws on the pediatric and adult critical care literature to provide thought-provoking data around the potential harms of excessive intravenous fluids, which may prove relevant to neonatology. Current data suggest that fluid bolus therapy and early-life positive fluid balance in neonates may be associated with harm.