Research

Hormonal

Intravenous n-3 fatty acids (fish oil emulsions) reduce inflammation and improve outcomes in critically ill patients, including reduced infection rates and shorter hospital stays.

In hospital settings for critically ill patients, intravenous fish oil is used to modulate the severe inflammatory response. Evidence suggests it can help reduce infections and shorten the time patients spend in the hospital or on ventilators.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Intravenous n-3 fatty acids may have benefits in critically ill patients through reduced inflammation... Meta-analyses of studies of intravenous fish oil in critically ill patients are generally supportive... fish oil-containing lipid emulsions may be associated with a reduction in infections and also could be associated with a reduction in duration of ventilation and hospital length of stay
Philip C. Calder · Biochemical Society Transactions · 2017

Why this rating

Meta-analyses are supportive but note inconsistencies.

Source

Omega-3 fatty acids and inflammatory processes: from molecules to man

Philip C. Calder · Biochemical Society Transactions · 2017

DOI 10.1042/bst20160474

narrative_reviewCited 1,314×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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