THIS report is based on a study of severely injured patients admitted to a large general hospital overseas. Of these, 166 had orthopedic injuries of severe degree; 98 others were patients in wards for general surgery. Hemoglobin, hematocrit and plasma protein values were measured before and after surgical treatment, which included particularly the use of large transfusions of whole blood and plasma. The observations indicate that: (a) a simple method for measuring hemoconcentration and hemodilution by the copper sulfate specific gravity technic is of great clinical value, (b) large amounts of whole blood are needed in the treatment of the severely injured, (c) several interesting correlations exist between hematocrit values and changes in plasma protein in these cases.
MATERIAL STUDIED
One hundred and sixty-six patients with severe orthopedic injuries were studied carefully, and for 91 of these detailed records of all fluids and blood transfusions were recorded. Of these, 45