Hemolysis Due to Intravenous Injection of Distilled Water

In the performance of a clinical test in which, to wash in a certain salt, the prescribed technic called for the intravenous injection of indefinite amounts of distilled water, it was found by a physician, who was trying the test on his own person before applying it to patients, that sufficient hemolysis was caused to produce chills, fever, considerable malaise, albuminuria and hemoglobinuria, lasting about four hours. It was afterward estimated that, as the individual weighed 84 kg. and as between 300 and 400 c.c. of water were injected in about fifteen minutes in addition to the relatively isotonic drug solution used, the amount of water introduced was equivalent to about 0.4 per cent, of the body-weight. As a search of the literature concerning hemolysis failed to reveal exact information as to the amounts of distilled water that may be injected intravenously without causing noticeable hemolysis, it seemed advisable to