Biomaterial Database

Why is saline so acidic (and does it really matter?). 2013

Benjamin A J Reddi

Intensive Care Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital; Clinical Senior Lecturer, Discipline of Acute Care Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia. benja-min.reddi@adelaide.edu.au

Commercial 0.9% saline solution for infusion has a pH around 5.5. There are many reasons for this acidity, some of them still obscure. It is also true that infusion of normal saline can lead to metabolic acidaemia, yet the link between the acidity of saline solution and the acidaemia it can engender is not straightforward. This commentary draws together the known and putative sources of acidity in saline solutions: it turns out that the acidity of saline solution is essentially unrelated to the acidaemia complicating saline infusion.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007552	Isotonic Solutions	Solutions having the same osmotic pressure as blood serum, or another solution with which they are compared. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed & Dorland, 28th ed)	Solutions, Isotonic
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D006863	Hydrogen-Ion Concentration	The normality of a solution with respect to HYDROGEN ions; H+. It is related to acidity measurements in most cases by pH	pH,Concentration, Hydrogen-Ion,Concentrations, Hydrogen-Ion,Hydrogen Ion Concentration,Hydrogen-Ion Concentrations
D000077324	Crystalloid Solutions	Isotonic solutions of mineral salts, such as RINGER'S LACTATE and SODIUM CHLORIDE (SALINE SOLUTION), used in FLUID THERAPY to rehydrate BLOOD VOLUME.	Crystalloid Solution,Crystalloid,Solution, Crystalloid,Solutions, Crystalloid
D000143	Acids	Chemical compounds which yield hydrogen ions or protons when dissolved in water, whose hydrogen can be replaced by metals or basic radicals, or which react with bases to form salts and water (neutralization). An extension of the term includes substances dissolved in media other than water. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Acid
D012965	Sodium Chloride	A ubiquitous sodium salt that is commonly used to season food.	Sodium Chloride, (22)Na,Sodium Chloride, (24)NaCl