Heparinised saline versus normal saline flushing in maintaining arterial catheter patency in intensive care patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Heparinised saline was associated with reduced arterial catheter occlusion in pooled analyses, but this effect diminished over the years and may not translate to contemporary ICU practice. Further contemporary, well-designed trials are needed to clarify whether selected high-risk populations may derive meaningful benefit.