Hypodermoclysis

Abstract

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> Dr Gluck (1982; 248:1310) has emphasized the exceptional safety of hypodermoclysis, and he cited in evidence our study of 1,850 subcutaneous infusions in 270 elderly persons.¹Since our experience now encompasses 4,500 subcutaneous infusions in 634 elderly patients, we can draw further conclusions. The commonest untoward effect was overloading, which caused either subcutaneous edema or heart failure in a total of nine patients. In the five patients with subcutaneous edema, the fluid was mostly in the pelvic and genital regions and rapidly responded to diuretics in four of them; one patient died in renal failure but the death was unconnected with the infusion. Of the four patients with pulmonary edema, two died; however, it is possible that in one of the fatal cases, the cardiac insufficiency occurred spontaneously, since the patient received only one infusion consisting of 1 L of glucose-saline. Local infection was seen only