Fluosol: therapeutic failure in severe anemia

OBJECTIVE: To report the use of Fluosol in the management of a severe anemia and to review the literature regarding the use of Fluosol. CASE REPORT: A 40-year-old woman, at 40.5 weeks gestation, was admitted for induction of labor. Her hospital course was complicated by a postpartum hemorrhage and severe anemia. Because the patient was a Jehovah's Witness, she received non-blood products including hetastarch, iron dextran, and erythropoietin, and a total of 33 mL/kg of Fluosol, but she did not survive. DISCUSSION: Fluosol is an oxygen-carrying, perfluorochemical blood substitute. It was administered to our patient, who presented with the lowest hemoglobin (Hb) (11 g/L) and hematocrit (0.31 fraction of 1.00) of all reported cases. Almost all patients with an Hb < 20 g/L do not survive. CONCLUSIONS: Although the use of Fluosol as a blood substitute appears theoretically promising, its use in the management of severe anemia cannot be recommended.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Cothren, E. E. Moore, P. J. Offner, J. B. Haenel, and J. L. Johnson Blood Substitute and Erythropoietin Therapy in a Severely Injured Jehovah's Witness N. Engl. J. Med., April 4, 2002; 346(14): 1097 - 1098. [Full Text] [PDF]