Experimental infusion thrombophlebitis. A comparison between glucose and frutcose and 5% and 10% glucose solution.

On the basis of clinical experience it has been claimed that glucose results in a higher incidence of infusion thrombophlebitis than fructose, and that glucose solutions in concentrations higher than 5% are extremely irritant to the venous endothelium. The validity of these two assertions has been investigated by an experimental method based on a quantitative histological study of rabbit-ear veins into which infusions were given under standardized conditions. In two series of experiments, it was shown (1) that fructose solutions caused significantly more inflammatory changes in the veins than did glucose solutions, and (2) that glucose in 10% solutions caused significantly more injury to the veins than 5% solutions, although the difference in the average inflammatory changes was only slight.