Background
Crystalloid fluids have been used as a method of resuscitation since the
cholera epidemic in the 1830’s [59]. Crystalloids are a family of
aqueous solutions containing different concentrations of ions and small
organic molecules [60]. These solutions are classified as
physiologically unbalanced/nonbuffered (e.g. normal saline),
physiologically balanced/buffered (e.g. lactate, acetate, maleate) or
classified by their tonicity relative to human plasma (isotonic,
hypotonic or hypertonic) [59, 61, 62].