Trauma Survivors Network - provided by ATS

Survive. Connect. Rebuild.

A Program of the ATS

Fluid Resuscitation

Fluid revival restores normal blood levels and blood pressure, and helps provide enough oxygen to the body’s organs. Fluid revival or resuscitation is giving large amounts of intravenous (IV) fluids and blood products to a patient, after loss due to sweating, bleeding, or pathologic process. The need for fluid resuscitation may be caused by multiple extremity fractures, gunshot wounds, stab wounds, internal bleeding (spleen, liver, colon, etc.), blood loss, and infections that cause a decrease in the patient’s physical condition.

Signs and symptoms seen on a patient needing fluid resuscitation may be fast heart rate, low blood pressure, low or no urine output, and obvious bleeding. Young, healthy patients generally respond better than those who are elderly or those with long term medical conditions. A positive response to fluid resuscitation would be that the blood pressure rises, the heart rate slows, and urine output is normal. In order for these responses to occur it is important for the trauma doctors to stop the bleeding source, which sometimes requires an operation. The prognosis depends on the type of injury that caused the low blood volume.