Balanced Multi-Electrolyte Solution Versus Saline Trial for Diabetic KetoAcidosis (BEST-DKA)

Balanced Multi-electrolyte Solution Versus 0.9% Sodium Chloride as Fluid Therapy for Patients Presenting With Moderate to Severe Diabetic Ketoacidosis

The goal of this blinded, cluster cross-over, randomised controlled trial is to determine whether fluid therapy with Plasma-Lyte® 148 increases the number of days alive and days out of hospital to day-28 compared to 0.9% sodium chloride ('0.9% saline') in critically ill patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) and deemed to require admission to a critical care area (ICU, HDU) with moderate to severe diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Diabetic Ketoacidosis
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Plasma-Lyte 148; Drug: 0.9% sodium chloride

Detailed Description

DKA is a life-threatening complication of diabetes mellitus, described in patients with both type-1 diabetes, and type-2 diabetes(1). Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare suggest that between 2009-10 to 2014-15, there has been a 21% increase in the hospitalisation amongst young people with DKA(2). An interrogation of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Centre for Outcomes Research (CORE) database revealed that the incidence of ICU admission of patients with DKA in Australia and New Zealand increased 5-fold between 2000 and 2013 (0.97/100000, 95%CI 0.84 to1.10) in 2000 to (5.3/100000, 95%CI 4.98to 5.53, (P<0.0001)(3).

Increasing incidences were observed predominantly in rural and metropolitan hospitals (Figure 1), about 88% of the admissions to the ICU were from the ED. The median (IQR) ICU and hospital length of stay were 1.8 (1-2.8) and 4 (2.6-7.4) days respectively. Recent data from the ANZICS-CORE database confirmed the persistent high admission rate of severe DKA to Australian ICUs - 2849 and 2862 admissions in 2019 and 2020.

A major review of DKA management protocols in 2017 concluded that there are major deficiencies in evidence for optimal management of DKA(33). Current practice is guided by weak evidence and consensus opinion.

Studies comparing Plasma-Lyte® 148 vs. 0.9% saline in DKA demonstrate a trend towards a more rapid resolution of acidosis, equivalent glucose control and stable ketones with Plasma-Lyte® 148. In addition, there are trends towards reduced length of ICU and hospital stay with the use of Plasma-Lyte® 148.

Given the clinical uncertainty and substantial variability in practice. there is a scientific, clinical and health economic imperative to conduct a high-fidelity study to provide definitive evidence to inform clinicians regarding the choice of resuscitation fluids for patients with DKA. BEST-DKA will address this critical knowledge gap.

BEST-DKA is a multi-centre, blinded, cluster-crossover trial conducted in 20 Australian hospitals, consisting of two 12-month intervention periods with a one-month inter-period gap.

Each hospital is a single cluster, with all patients admitted with DKA to that hospital's ED during the intervention periods will potentially be eligible for inclusion in the trial. After the first 12-month intervention period during which recruited patients will receive either Plasma-Lyte® 148 or 0.9% saline, there will be a one-month inter-period gap during which patients will not be recruited into the trial. Following this each critical care area will change to using the fluid to which they were not assigned for the first period (Figure 4). All included patients will receive blinded fluids (Plasma-Lyte® 148 or 0.9% saline) as part of their DKA therapy depending on the fluid assigned to the site for the relevant intervention period.

Both study fluids are manufactured by Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd (Old Toongabbie, NSW) and will be labelled, packed and distributed by the company directly to the study sites in periodic shipments. Study fluid will be coded and labelled in compliance with applicable regulations, and in a manner that protects the blinding.

All clinicians involved in the prescription of blinded study treatment must read Product Information for both Plasma-Lyte® 148 and 0.9% saline which provide detailed information about the composition, indications, side effects, suggested dosage and contraindications of the study treatments.

The volume and rate of blinded study fluid administered will be guided by the standard clinical endpoints determined by the treating clinician. Study treatments will be started following study enrolment and continue until discharge from a critical care area or for a maximum of 72 hrs, whichever is earlier. If patients are re-admitted to the critical care area within 72 hours with a relapse of ketoacidosis, the clinician may use open label fluids for the managements of ketoacidosis. within 72 hours they will continue to receive blinded treatment fluid. Glucose containing solutions can be added in as required for blood glucose or ketosis management. The use of bicarbonate therapy and the need for potassium, phosphate and magnesium supplementation will be at the discretion of the treating clinician and data on its use will be collected.

The primary outcome will be evaluated at day-28 and patients contacted via telephone.

End-user/consumer representatives have been involved in all components of the research program including protocol development, choice of primary outcome, funding applications, and membership of the management committee. End-user/consumer representatives will continue to be involved in the conduct of the study and play a key role in the dissemination of results. Currently, membership of the study management committee includes the President of the advocacy group, Diabetes Australia; Director of Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI); and a consumer who lives with diabetes.

This study aligns with the Medical Research Future Fund (Australia Government grant) funded ACADI objective to address the acute complications of diabetes including management of DKA.

The study has been endorsed by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and a letter of support from for the study from Diabetes Australia.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 680
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Australia
  • New South Wales
    • Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia, 2148
      • Recruiting
      • Blacktown Hospital
      • Contact: Richard McNulty; Phone Number: +61 2 9881 8216; Email: Richard.McNulty@health.nsw.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Richard McNulty
    • Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia, 2050
      • Recruiting
      • Camperdown Hospital
      • Contact: Ramanan Lakshmanan; Phone Number: +61 2 4634 3384; Email: Ramanathan.Lakshmanan@health.nsw.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Ramanan Lakshmanan
    • Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia, 2830
      • Recruiting
      • Dubbo Base Hospital
      • Contact: Kalai Kanagasingham; Phone Number: +61 2 6809 6809; Email: kalai.kanagasingham@health.nsw.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Kalai Kanagasingham
    • Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia, 2217
      • Recruiting
      • St George Hospital
      • Contact: Manoj Saxena; Phone Number: +61 2 9113 2236; Email: manoj.saxena@health.nsw.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Manoj Saxena
    • Metford, New South Wales, Australia, 2323
      • Recruiting
      • Maitland Hospital
      • Contact: Hesham Abdelwahed; Phone Number: +61 2 4087 1000; Email: Hesham.Abdelwahed@health.nsw.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Hesham Abdelwahed
    • Orange, New South Wales, Australia, 2800
      • Recruiting
      • Orange Hospital
      • Contact: Fiona Shields; Phone Number: +61 2 6369 3908; Email: fmshields@bigpond.com
      • Principal Investigator: Fiona Shields
    • St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia, 2065
      • Recruiting
      • Royal North Shore Hospital
      • Principal Investigator: Anthony Delaney
      • Contact: Anthony Delaney; Phone Number: +61 (2) 99267111; Email: adelaney@med.usyd.edu.au
    • Westmead, New South Wales, Australia, 2145
      • Recruiting
      • Westmead Hospital
      • Principal Investigator: Vineet Nayyar
      • Contact: Vineet Nayyar; Phone Number: +61 2 8890 9356; Email: Vineet.Nayyar@health.nsw.gov.au
  • Queensland
    • Birtinya, Queensland, Australia, 4575
      • Recruiting
      • Sunshine Coast University Hospital
      • Contact: David Gutierrez; Phone Number: +61 7 5202 0000; Email: david.gutierrez@health.qld.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: David Gutierrez
    • Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
      • Recruiting
      • Caboolture Hospital
      • Contact: Mahesh Ramanan; Phone Number: +61 7 5433 8888; Email: mahesh.ramanan@health.qld.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Mahesh Ramanan
    • Coopers Plains, Queensland, Australia, 4108
      • Recruiting
      • Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital
      • Principal Investigator: David Stewart
      • Contact: David Stewart; Phone Number: +61 7 3182 6111; Email: david.stewart@health.qld.gov.au
    • Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia, 4020
      • Recruiting
      • Redcliffe Hospital
      • Contact: Alexis Tabah; Phone Number: +61 7 3883 7851; Email: alexix.Tabah@health.qld.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Alexis Tabah
    • Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, 4700
      • Recruiting
      • Rockhampton Hospital
      • Contact: Antony Attokaran; Phone Number: +61 7 4920 6313; Email: antony.attokaran@health.qld.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Antony Attokaran
    • Southport, Queensland, Australia, 4215
      • Recruiting
      • Gold Coast University Hospital
      • Contact: Gerben Keijzers; Phone Number: +61 7 5687 5274; Email: Gerben.Keijzers@health.qld.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Gerben Keijzers
  • South Australia
    • Elizabeth Vale, South Australia, Australia, 5112
      • Recruiting
      • Lyell McEwin Hospital
      • Contact: Vishwanath Biradar; Phone Number: +61 8 8282 0781; Email: Vishwanath.Biradar@sa.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Vishwanath Biradar
    • Woodville South, South Australia, Australia, 5011
      • Recruiting
      • The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
      • Principal Investigator: Sandra Peake
      • Contact: Sandra Peake; Phone Number: +61 8 8222 6642; Email: sandra.peake@sa.gov.au
  • Victoria
    • Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 3350
      • Recruiting
      • Ballarat Base Hospital
      • Contact: Mark Kubicki; Phone Number: +61 3 5320 4347; Email: mark.kubicki@bhs.org.au
      • Principal Investigator: Mark Kubicki
    • Berwick, Victoria, Australia, 3806
      • Recruiting
      • Monash Health-Casey Hospital
      • Contact: Umesh Kadam; Phone Number: +61 3 9594 3196; Email: Umesh.Kadam@monashhealth.org
      • Principal Investigator: Umesh Kadam
    • Dandenong, Victoria, Australia, 3175
      • Recruiting
      • Dandenong Hospital
      • Contact: Ashwin Subramaniam; Phone Number: +61 3 9554 1000; Email: ashwin.subramaniam@monash.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Ashwin Subramaniam
    • Frankston, Victoria, Australia, 3199
      • Recruiting
      • Frankston Hospital - Peninsula Health
      • Contact: Claire Michel; Phone Number: +61 3 9784 7777; Email: CMichel@phcn.vic.gov.au
      • Principal Investigator: Claire Michel
    • Traralgon, Victoria, Australia, 3844
      • Recruiting
      • Latrobe Regional Hospital
      • Contact: Pritish Korula; Phone Number: +61 3 5173 8090; Email: Pritish.Korula@lrh.com.au
      • Principal Investigator: Pritish Korula

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients in the ED with a primary diagnosis of moderate to severe DKA for whom both saline and Plasma-Lyte® 148 are considered appropriate fluids
• Blood glucose level > 14mmol/L
• pH < 7.25
• Serum bicarbonate <15 mmol/L
• Elevated anion gap > 12mEq/L
• Ketones positive on finger prick measurements
• In the judgement of the treating clinician critical care area admission is required

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age less than 18 years
• Patients who have received more than 2000ml of non study fluid prior to study enrolment
• Serum Na > 155 or <120 mmol/L
• Contraindication to either study fluid e.g. previous allergic reaction to Plasma-Lyte® 148
• Patients with hyperosmotic hyperglycaemic non-ketotic syndrome
• Other clinical conditions that preclude large volumes of fluid resuscitation
• Previous inclusion in BEST-DKA trial

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Plasma-Lyte® 148; Plasma-Lyte® 148 fluid 1L given intravenously for fluid replacement	Drug: Plasma-Lyte 148; Plasma-Lyte® 148 intravenous fluid for resuscitation in patients with keto-acidosis; Other Names: Balanced multi-electrolyte solution
Active Comparator: 0.9% sodium chloride; Normal saline fluid 1L given intravenously for fluid replacement	Drug: 0.9% sodium chloride; 0.9% sodium chloride intravenous fluid for resuscitation in patients with keto-acidosis; Other Names: normal saline

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Hospital free days (HFD) up to day-28 after study enrolment	Number of hospital free days from time of hospital discharge	from time of enrolment to 28 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
ICU free days up to 28 days after study enrolment	Number of ICU free days from time of ICU discharge	28 days after enrolment
ICU and hospital readmissions up to 28 days after study enrolment	Number of days free from ICU and hospital from time of hospital discharge	28 days after enrolment
Acute kidney injury assessed by comparing serum creatinine using Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria	injury assessed by comparing change in serum creatinine using Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria	28 days after enrolment
Episodes of post-study enrolment decrease in Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) by more than 2 in the first 24 hours	decrease in Glasgow Coma Score by more than 2 points	first 24 hours from enrolment
Time to resolution of ketosis	resolution of acidosis	from time of enrolment to day 28
Cumulative insulin dosage in the first 48 hours	Total amount of insulin given to the patient from enrolment to 48 hours	first 48 hours from time of enrolment
Duration of IV insulin infusion	Total amount of IV insulin given to the patient from time of enrolment to day 28	from time of enrolment to day 28
Cumulative potassium replacement	Total amount of potassium given to the patient from time of enrolment to day 28	from time of enrolment to day 28

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cost-effectiveness	Calculation of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios	from time of enrolment to day 28

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The George Institute

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 14, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 7, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 28, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): March 2, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 17, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 10, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Endocrine System Diseases; Metabolic Diseases; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetes Complications; Acid-Base Imbalance; Acidosis; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Ketosis; Diabetic Ketoacidosis; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Crystalloid Solutions; Isotonic Solutions; Solutions; Plasma-lyte 148; Saline Solution
• Other Study ID Numbers: TGI CCP-2378-352

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No