Limitations of blood replacement with electrolyte solutions. A controlled clinical study.

There is an important need to define the maximum safe replacement of operative or traumatic blood loss with the use of balanced saline solutions alone.1Numerous animal studies indicate that saline solutions in large amounts will maintain blood pressure even when 50% of the blood volume is replaced.2-6A number of studies in the operating room report the successful use of buffered saline for blood replacement, but none have used controls or explored the limits for use of these solutions.7-12This prospective, randomized, clinical study examines these questions. Materials and Methods One hundred and seventy-four patients at operation were originally admitted to the study. One hundred patients satisfied all requirements, which were as follows: Adult patients from the general surgical, orthopedic, urological. and gynecological services picked at random from each day's operative schedule without regard to age or general condition, and selected on the anticipation of