ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To report the use of Fluosol in the management of a severe anemia and to review the literature regarding the use of Fluosol. CASE REPORT: A 40-year-old woman, at 40.5 weeks gestation, was admitted for induction of labor. Her hospital course was complicated by a postpartum hemorrhage and severe anemia. Because the patient was a Jehovah's Witness, she received non-blood products including hetastarch, iron dextran, and erythropoietin, and a total of 33 mL/kg of Fluosol, but she did not survive. DISCUSSION: Fluosol is an oxygen-carrying, perfluorochemical blood substitute. It was administered to our patient, who presented with the lowest hemoglobin (Hb) (11 g/L) and hematocrit (0.31 fraction of 1.00) of all reported cases. Almost all patients with an Hb < 20 g/L do not survive. CONCLUSIONS: Although the use of Fluosol as a blood substitute appears theoretically promising, its use in the management of severe anemia cannot be recommended.
Subject(s)
Anemia/drug therapy , Blood Substitutes/therapeutic use , Fluorocarbons/therapeutic use , Postpartum Hemorrhage/complications , Adult , Anemia/etiology , Christianity , Female , Fluorocarbons/administration & dosage , Humans , Infusions, Intravenous , Pregnancy , Treatment RefusalABSTRACT
Four young healthy adults were studied physiologically after accidental inhalation of chlorine gas. All patients were symptomatic with cough, tightness in the chest, and shortness of breath. All had restrictive ventilatory defect with impaired diffusing capacity. There was evidence of some obstruction in small airways. There was inconsistent evidence of obstruction in large airways. All lung function impairment was temporary and cleared entirely within one month. There was no residual lung damage.
