USING HEMOSTATIC AGENTS TO CONTROL SEVERE BLEEDING

January , 2011/in Bandaging, Crush Injuries, First Aid Kits, Medical Response, Soft Tissue/by WMN Editors

January/February 2011 ISSN-1059-6518 Volume 24 Number 1

Using Hemostatic Agents to Control Severe Bleeding

Brad L. Bennett, PhD, NREMT-P, WEMT, FAWM

Captain, US Navy (Ret.)

Member, Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care

SOLO Wilderness Medicine Instructor

Tidewater Search & Rescue, Virginia

Member, Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care

Historically and still currently today, severe hemorrhage remains the leading cause of death in combat. In civilian trauma, it is the second cause of preventable death after head trauma. Before I get into the discussion about the use of a hemostatic agent for controlling major arterial bleeds, let’s be aware that we should judiciously use direct pressure as the first line of defense to control bleeding from external bleeding sites. With effective direct pressure along with proper wound packing, these two approaches can stop severe bleeding in most cases. This is true even for major vessels such as the carotid or femoral arteries. Casualties with such injuries often bleed to death despite attempts at direct pressure.

CLOT-FORMING DRESSINGS

March , 2010/in Bandaging, Medical Response, Medications, Specific Injuries, Trauma, Treatment/by WMN Editors

March/April 2010 ISSN-1059-6518 Volume 23 Number 2

Clot-forming Dressings

By Frank Hubbell, DO

Over the past few years several new clot-forming dressings have been developed to help control severe life-threatening bleeding. This market has been driven primarily by the military for war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are many aspects of providing emergency care in the military setting that are quite different from those in the civilian arena.

ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF SOFT TISSUE INJURIES Part 2

March , 2006/in Soft Tissue, Trauma/by WMN Editors

In the January/February issue of the Wilderness Medicine Newsletter we began a detailed discussion regarding soft tissue injuries. We looked at the anatomy of soft tissue, the importance of BSI in the treatment of these injuries, the circulatory sytsetm, controlling bleeding, and the specific types of soft tissue injuries. In this issue we will complete the process by reviewing the wild aspect of soft tissue injuries: long-term wound care, wound infections, and bandaging skills.

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