Intravenous (IV) Fluids, 1832 – A Life-Saving Formula

In 1832, Thomas Latta, a doctor in Leith, Scotland, became one of the first physicians to inject saline solution (salt water made with sodium chloride) into veins to save people dehydrated by cholera. 

Today, we accept as scientific fact that cholera is a bacterial infection and that the severe diarrhea it causes has killed millions. Latta’s treatment methods were adapted by Irish physician William O’Shaughnessy to propose similar treatments for cholera patients.

Latta’s first patient was “apparently in the final moments of her earthly existence”, an elderly woman. Latta inserted a tube into a large vein in her upper arm and slowly injected saline. After a while, the patient began breathing more comfortably and “her previously dimmed eyes gradually began to shine again; her pulse could be felt at the wrist.” 30 minutes after half a liter of fluid had been injected, the woman “said she was free of all discomfort ”. Her arms and legs were warm. Latta felt she was recovering and recommended that a surgeon attend to her. One day while Latta was out of town, she suddenly began vomiting and died within five hours. Latta believed she might have survived had the infusions continued. These highly diluted saline injections continued to be tried in other patients, but no definite conclusion about their success was reached.

Unfortunately, Latta died a year later, and his work was largely forgotten. Although his ideas were mostly sound, they probably failed because of a lack of sterile practice and insufficient fluid administration to restore the body’s fluid balance.

Today, intravenous (into a vein) saline solutions save lives by replacing water and salt lost through bleeding or inadequate fluid intake. They are used against illnesses such as cholera or norovirus infection, which cause dehydration through vomiting and diarrhea.

About the Article Illustration: Thanks to Thomas Latte and later developers, intravenous fluids saved the lives of people affected by cholera. A First World War poster by American illustrator Boardman Robinson in 1918, and an advertisement from that period.

Historical Figures Mentioned: Thomas Aitchison Latta (1790–1833), William Brooke O’Shaughnessy (1808–1889)

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