to have little historical basis, except for studies done in 1882–83 by Dutch physiologist Hartog Jacob Hamburger; these in vitro studies of red cell lysis suggested incorrectly that 0.9% was the concentration of salt in human blood (rather than 0.6%, the true concentration). Normal saline has become widely used in modern medicine, but due to the mismatch with real blood, other solutions have proved better. The 2018 publication of a randomized, controlled trial with 15,000 people in intensive care units showed that compared to normal saline, lactated Ringer's solution reduced the combined risk of mortality, need for additional dialysis, or persistent kidney problems from 15% to 14%, which given the large number of patients is a significant reduction. Society and culture Coconut water has been used in place of normal saline in areas without access to normal saline. Its use, however, has not been well studied. See also Intravenous therapy Saline water Salinometer References External links 1831 introductions Intravenous fluids World Health Organization essential medicines Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate Salts Water