Ref (type)	Population	Outcome, Interventions	Results and statistical analysis	Effect size	Favours
Recurrence of shock
RCT 4-armed trial	50 Vietnamese children aged 5–15 years with dengue shock syndrome	Median recurrence of shock 1 episode with sodium chloride (crystalloid regimen) 1 episode with Ringer’s lactate (crystalloid regimen) 1 episode with dextran 70 (colloid regimen) 1 episode with gelafundin (colloid regimen)	Difference among groups P = 0.46		Not significant
RCT	222 Vietnamese children, aged 1–15 years with dengue shock syndrome	Recurrence of shock 20/81 (25%) with crystalloid regimens (sodium chloride or Ringer’s lactate) 24/90 (27%) with colloid regimens (dextran 70 or gelafundin)	RR 1.02 95% CI 0.56 to1.85		Not significant
Duration of shock
RCT 4-armed trial	50 Vietnamese children aged 5–15 years with dengue shock syndrome	Mean duration in shock 1.5 hours with sodium chloride (crystalloid regimen) 5.0 hours with Ringer’s lactate (crystalloid regimen) 2.8 hours with dextran 70 (colloid regimen) 7.0 hours with gelafundin (colloid regimen)	Difference among groups P = 0.36		Not significant
Fluid requirements
RCT 4-armed trial	50 Vietnamese children aged 5–15 years with dengue shock syndrome	Requirement for further fluid infusions between the 2-hour infusion and full recovery from shock with sodium chloride (crystalloid regimen) with Ringer’s lactate (crystalloid regimen) with dextran 70 (colloid regimen) with gelafundin (colloid regimen)	The RCT found no significant difference among groups in requirement for further infusions of crystalloids (P = 0.16) or colloids (P = 0.70) between the 2-hour infusion and full recovery from shock (recovery from shock was defined as a pulse pressure of at least 20 mmHg)		Not significant
RCT 4-armed trial	222 Vietnamese children, aged 1–15 years with dengue shock syndrome	Proportion requiring further infusions after the first hour 17/56 (30%) with sodium chloride (crystalloid regimen) 20/55 (36%) with Ringer’s lactate (crystalloid regimen) 17/55 (31%) with dextran 70 (colloid regimen) 15/56 (27%) with gelafundin (colloid regimen)	Difference among groups P = 0.75		Not significant
RCT 4-armed trial	222 Vietnamese children, aged 1–15 years with dengue shock syndrome	Total volume of fluid infused until full recovery from shock with sodium chloride (crystalloid regimen) with Ringer’s lactate (crystalloid regimen) with dextran 70 (colloid regimen) with gelafundin (colloid regimen)	Difference among groups P = 0.95		Not significant
RCT 3-armed trial	383 Vietnamese children aged 2–15 with moderately severe dengue shock syndrome (moderate severity: pulse pressure >10 mmHg and up to 20 mmHg)	Proportion of children who needed rescue fluids 40/128 (31%) with Ringer’s lactate (crystalloid regimen) 31/126 (25%) with 6% dextran 70 (colloid regimen) 43/129 (33%) with 6% hydroxyethyl starch (colloid regimen)	Difference among groups P = 0.28 The RCT also found no significant difference between Ringer’s lactate and either of the colloid solutions in the proportion of children who required rescue colloid (RR 1.08, 95% CI 0.78–1.47; P = 0.65; absolute numbers not reported); see Further information on studies		Not significant