[Volume therapy in traumatology]

Circulatory failure is the most dominating problem in the multitraumatized patient in hospital. This article describes the most important pathophysiological events from a compensated stage to the final irreversible stage. The practical consequences for both the doctor and the patient are the amount of bleeding and the duration of the stage of shock. When there are technical problems with venous access we recommend surgical cut-down of peripheral veins. The article also describes the principal quality of the most commonly used volume substitutes. Finally, the author discusses the use of sodium bicarbonate in the event of lactacidosis.