The Rapid Infusion of Large Quantities of ACD Adenine Solution into Humans

Recent investigation has shown that the addition of adenine to citrated blood significantly prolongs the useful shelf life of banked blood. The present study was undertaken to ascertain if adenine‐ACD solutions were toxic to humans. Seven healthy adult male volunteers were infused with 0.5‐liter and 1.0‐liter quantities of the ACD‐ade‐nine solution used to preserve and anticoagulate blood. The rates of infusion were comparable to those required for the resuscitation of seriously wounded wartime casualties. The larger dose caused mild circumoral paresthesia in all subjects and slight electrocardiographic prolongation of the QT interval in two volunteers. Other clinical and laboratory studies showed no changes that could be attributed to either adenine or citrate toxicity. The unchanged coagulation tests in our subjects suggested that the abnormalities observed after massive blood transfusion are probably unrelated to the infusion of citrate.