Evidence mapPaperPMID 42241250Full record

SynthesisInternal medicine journal2026

Demographic, perioperative, biochemical and illness-severity predictors of thirst in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Xiaokun Shen, Xiaohong Lei, Yu Chen, Lihua Liu

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Internal medicine journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Xiaokun ShenAnesthesiology and Surgery Center, West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Xiaohong LeiAnesthesiology and Surgery Center, West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Yu ChenAnesthesiology and Surgery Center, West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Lihua LiuAnesthesiology and Surgery Center, West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1007-1227

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Thirst is a prevalent and distressing symptom among critically ill and surgical patients, yet its predictors remain poorly characterised. We aimed to quantify the associations between patient demographics, treatment modalities, biochemical markers and illness severity with self-reported thirst in critical settings. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published through April 2025 in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Ovid MEDLINE. Eligible observational studies in adult intensive care or perioperative cohorts reported associations between thirst and at least one of six factors: sex, anaesthetic technique, mechanical ventilation, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum osmolality or Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE-II) score. Data were pooled using DerSimonian-Laird random-effects models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for dichotomous predictors and weighted or standardised mean differences (WMDs/SMDs) for continuous variables. Heterogeneity was assessed by I

Indexed as

Critical IllnessSeverity of Illness IndexThirstAPACHEBiomarkersHumansOsmolar ConcentrationRespiration, ArtificialBiomarkersAPACHEmeta‐analysisosmolalitythirst

Identifiers

PMID42241250
PMCPMC13458247

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.