 Trauma is the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 1 and 35 years. The majority of these deaths result from hypovolemic shock, a type of shock in which the heart is unable to supply enough blood to the body, and the resulting severe brain injury. Patients in hypovolemic shock develop a state of systemic tissue ischemia with a subsequent reperfusion injury at the time of fluid resuscitation. Conventional resuscitation of these patients involves the intravenous administration of a large volume of isotonic or slightly hypotonic lactated ringers solutions beginning in the pre-hospital environment. Previous studies have suggested that an alternative resuscitation fluid, HSD, may reduce mortality in these patients; but these studies have not been conclusive. Furthermore, HSD may have specific advantages in the brain-injured patient, as it may aid in the rapid restoration of cerebral perfusion, prevent extravascular fluid sequestration, and thus, limit secondary brain injury. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated that hypertonicity significantly alters the activation of inflammatory cells, which may result in a reduction in subsequent organ injury following whole body ischemiareperfusion and ultimately decrease nosocomial infection rates. 