A 38-year-old member asked:
What are the different types of intravenous fluids for?
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in

Internal Medicine - Geriatrics 22 years experience
Depends: The type of IV fluid used depends on the patient's needs.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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A 36-year-old member asked:
What are the different types of intravenous fluids and when are they used?
1 doctor answer • 6 doctors weighed in

Dr. Peter Kurzweilanswered
Internal Medicine 51 years experience
Sugar, salt, lactate: Iv fluids 101. The most common IV fluids uses are some combination and concentration of sugar (glucose, dextrose), salt (saline), and lactate. These combos are generally either isotonic (same concentration as blood), or hypotonic (less so). So, d5w is hypotonic sugar water that would be used for water depleted state; ns (normal saline) for low blood volume state. D5 in 1/2 ns for dehydration....
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated May 24, 2018
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