Volume Replacement Therapy with Dextrans: Are Dextrans Still Useful in Volume Replacement?

Dextran is a plasma volume expander introduced almost 50 years ago. It is a polysaccharide with a low degree of branching, produced by the fermentation of sucrose by the action of a bacteria, Leuconostoc mesenteroides streptococus, strain B512. By partial acid hydrolysis, most of the clinical dextrans are made with mean molecular weights (Mws) of 40,000 (dextran 40) or 70,000 daltons (dextran 70). In Table 4.1 some chemical characteristics of both clinical dextrans are compared to those of human albumin.