Effects on general safety and coagulation after long-term, high-dose volume therapy with 6% hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Results of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study

In the past, high-molecular weight, highly substituted hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 450/0.7, which is mostly used in the United States, has been implicated in bleeding complications, some of them lethal. In Europe, medium-molecular weight HES with a low degree of substitution (0.5) has been preferred. The present study investigated, whether a long-term, high-dose volume therapy with a newly developed 6% HES 130/0.4 (Voluven®) is safe in patients suffering from acute ischemic stroke. In particular, the effects on hemostaseology were examined.