Abstract
Summary
1. Ten-day survival percentages are recorded for severely burned rats, infused with saline and several macromolecular solutions and for the simultaneous untreated controls, a) Hypertonic saline solutions were more effective in promoting survival than isotonic saline solutions, b) Effectiveness of the macromolecular solutions in promoting survival decreased as the concentration of these substances was increased, c) Due to the specific allergic reaction of rats to Dextran, the relative effectiveness of this plasma expander could not be ascertained. 2. Hematocrit data recorded in terms of per cent of initial values are given for several animals in all groups, a) Hypertonic saline solutions tend to maintain a cell-plasma ratio more nearly approaching the initial than isotonic solutions, b) Increased hemodilution followed infusions of the higher concentrations of macromolecular substances. c) Hemodilution in general cannot be directly correlated with survival; however, the lowest hemodilution values were found, except for saline, in those groups having the lowest survival percentage.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.