[The effects of hypertonic and balanced saline solutions on burn shock resuscitation in burned rats]

Hypertonic saline solution (HS) has been used effectively to treat different kinds of shock. In this experiment, all rats are inflicted with a full-thickness burn of 20% BSA, and they are divided into three groups. Group I, control; group II, resuscitated with balanced saline solution; group III, with HS. All animals are sacrificed at 24 hours postburn to determine blood viscosity (BV) and tissue water content (TWC), as well as to observe the microcirculation in kidney with electronmicroscopy. We find that the TWC increased significantly in group II (P < 0.05), while BV decreased, especially in group III (P < 0.01). The electronmicroscopic observation indicates that: In group I, there are capillary dilatation, red cell aggregation, endothelium edema, and appearance of many gaps between endothelium. In group II, the blood flows easily and smoothly. In group III, the improvement of microcirculation is not significant and the blood vessel is filled with microthromboli. The results show that HS can improve systemic circulation, but not microcirculation.