Question

Explain why is important that intravenous solution used to deliver fluid or medications to parents are isotonic with respect to the patients blood

Answer 1

In cse of IV solution used to deliver to a patient it shoud be always isotonic to the body fluid/the blood of the patient to maintain the proper physiological functioning of the body as the electrolyte balance is concerned.

As if its hypertonic or hypotonic in both cases there will be very serious problems in body as:

If hypertonic IV fluid is adminestered in patient cell shrikage occurs.

Hypertonic: high solute, low solvent, in this case RBC and other cellular contents may get shrinked

Hypotonic: low solute high solvent: in this case RBC and other cellular contents may get swell

But in case of isotonic fluid no change.

A solution is isotonic when the concentration of dissolved particles is same as the plasma. Isotonic solutions have an osmolality of 250 to 375 mOsm/L.

In this case osmotic pressure remains constant and same in both inside and outside the cells, the fluid in each compartment remains within its compartmentas no shift occurs and as a result cells neither shrink nor swell.

Types of isotonic solutions

• 0.9% sodium chloride (0.9% NaCl)
• Lactated Ringer's solution
• 5% dextrose in water (D5W)
• Ringer's solution.

Hence it is always advisable for Isotonic IV fluid in the patients.