Study objective: We tested the hypothesis that following aortotomy, administration of hypertonic saline/dextran increases hemorrhage and mortality. We also compared hypertonic saline/dextran with the standard therapy of attempting to replace three times the amount of lost blood with lactated Ringer's solution.
Design: In this model of uncontrolled arterial hemorrhage resulting from aortotomy, 24 anesthetized Yorkshire swine underwent splenectomy, stainless steel wire placement in the infrarenal aorta, and instrumentation with Swan-Ganz and carotid artery catheters. The wire was pulled, producing a 5-mm aortotomy and spontaneous intraperitoneal hemorrhage.
Interventions: The animals were randomly assigned to one of three study groups: control; hypertonic saline/dextran group in which six minutes after aortotomy a 4-mL/kg mixture of IV 7.5% NaCl and 6% Dextran-70 was given over one minute; or lactated Ringer's group in which six minutes after aortotomy 80 mL/kg IV lactated Ringer's was given over nine minutes.
Measurements and main results: The volume of hemorrhage and the mortality rate in hypertonic saline/dextran-treated animals were significantly greater than in the nonresuscitated controls (1,340 +/- 230 mL versus 783 +/- 85 mL and five of eight versus zero of eight, respectively; P less than .05). Although the mortality rate in the lactated Ringer's group was not significantly different from the hypertonic saline/dextran group, survival time was significantly shorter than in the hypertonic saline/dextran group.
Conclusion: In this model of uncontrolled hemorrhage, immediate IV administration of hypertonic saline/dextran significantly increased hemorrhage volume and mortality. However, the accentuation of hemorrhage and reduction in survival were not as great as that produced by the standard practice of attempting to replace the lost blood with three times that volume of lactated Ringer's.