Surgical use of fluosol-DA in Jehovah's Witness patients.

The effects of Fluosol-DA 20% on circulating blood cells, hemodynamic parameters, blood gases, and organs are described and compared with the results of phase I human studies and animal experiments. Bleeding of preoperative anemia and/or surgical bleeding, Fluosol-DA 20% was administered to 7 of 10 Jehovah's Witness patients treated in this hospital. Six received 1,000 ml and the seventh received 2,000 ml. Hematological changes were examined after the administration of a 1-ml test dose and at early and late stages of Fluosol-DA 20% administration. Hemodynamics and blood gases were measured before and after infusion of Fluosol-DA 20%. Hepatic function was also determined. A drop in neutrophils and platelets was observed in some patients after the injection of a 1-ml test dose. This transient reaction was of short term, and the neutrophil and platelet levels recovered spontaneously. Both the efficacy and the safety of Fluosol-DA 20% were demonstrated in these patients.