Table 2.

Types and properties of most commonly used fluids.

Fluid	NS	LR	Plasma-Lyte A	D5W	5% Albumin	25% Albumin	Blood
Composition
Na+ (mEq/L)	154	130	140	0	154	154	135–145
Cl− (mEq/L)	154	109	98	0	154	154	94–111
K+ (mEq/L)	0	4	5	0	0	0	4.5–5
Ca2+ (mEq/L)	0	3	0	0	0	0	2.2–2.6
Mg2+ (mEq/L)	0	0	3	0	0	0	0.8–1
Lactate (mEq/L)	0	28	0	0	0	0	1–2
Gluconate (mEq/L)	0	0	23	0	0	0	0
Acetate (mEq/L)	0	0	27	0	0	0	0
Glucose (g/L)	0	0	0	50	0	0	70–120
Albumin (g/L)	0	0	0	0	50	250	0
Osmolarity (mOsm/L)	308	275	294	278	308	308	275–290
pH	5.4	6.5	7.4	4.2	7.4	7.4	7.4
Distribution (mL per 1 L infusion)
Intracellular	0	0	0	667	0	0	0
Interstitial	750	750	750	250	100	100	0
Intravascular	250	250	250	83	900	900	1000

D5W, dextrose 5% in water; LR, lactated Ringer’s; NS, normal saline. Adapted from [44,45,46,47,48].