PLASMA SUBSTITUTES
, PLASMA SUBSTITUTES REPLACEMENT FLUID
• Replacement fluids are used to replace abnormal losses of blood,
plasma or other extracellular fluids by increasing the volume of
the vascular compartment, principally in:
• Treatment of patients with established hypovolaemia: e.g.
haemorrhagic shock.
• Maintenance of normovolaemia in patients with ongoing fluid
losses: e.g. surgical blood loss.
NEED FOR PLASMA SUBSTITUTES
• The limited supplies of plasma.
• The cost of producing the dried form.
• The risk of transmitting serum hepatitis.
, PROPERTIES OF IDEAL PLASMA SUBSTITUTE
• The same colloidal osmotic pressure as whole blood.
• A viscosity similar to that of plasma.
• A molecular weight such that the molecules do not easily diffuse
through the capillary walls.
• A fairly low rate of excretion or destruction by the body
• Eventual and complete elimination from the body.
• Freedom from toxicity. E.g. no impairment of renal function.
• Freedom from antigenicity, pyrogenicity, and confusing effects on
important tests such as blood grouping and the erythrocyte
sedimentation rate.
• Isotonicity, in solution, equal to that of blood plasma.
• High stability in liquid form at normal and sterilizing temperatures
and during transport and storage.
• Ease of preparation, ready availability and low cost.
, PLASMA SUBSTITUTES REPLACEMENT FLUID
• Replacement fluids are used to replace abnormal losses of blood,
plasma or other extracellular fluids by increasing the volume of
the vascular compartment, principally in:
• Treatment of patients with established hypovolaemia: e.g.
haemorrhagic shock.
• Maintenance of normovolaemia in patients with ongoing fluid
losses: e.g. surgical blood loss.
NEED FOR PLASMA SUBSTITUTES
• The limited supplies of plasma.
• The cost of producing the dried form.
• The risk of transmitting serum hepatitis.
, PROPERTIES OF IDEAL PLASMA SUBSTITUTE
• The same colloidal osmotic pressure as whole blood.
• A viscosity similar to that of plasma.
• A molecular weight such that the molecules do not easily diffuse
through the capillary walls.
• A fairly low rate of excretion or destruction by the body
• Eventual and complete elimination from the body.
• Freedom from toxicity. E.g. no impairment of renal function.
• Freedom from antigenicity, pyrogenicity, and confusing effects on
important tests such as blood grouping and the erythrocyte
sedimentation rate.
• Isotonicity, in solution, equal to that of blood plasma.
• High stability in liquid form at normal and sterilizing temperatures
and during transport and storage.
• Ease of preparation, ready availability and low cost.
