Tissue toxicity of intravenous solutions. A phlebographic and experimental study.

A phlebographic study in 32 children has shown that i.v. infusion of invertose, glucose, Vamine and Intralipid but not saline, damages the tissues as judged from changes in the vessel walls, oedema and disturbances in the venous circulation. The addition of Heparin to the solutions markedly reduced the frequency of these untoward reactions. The toxicity of invertose, glucose, Vamine and Intralipid was studied experimentally in a biologic tissue: the cheek pouch of the hamster. All solutions particularly Vamine caused some damage to the microcirculation. In this study the factor mainly responsible for thrombophlebitis was the toxicity of the solution infused. Other factors such as surgical trauma, site of entry, local infection, temperature of solutions etc. played only a minor role.