Military medicine
-
Uncontrolled hemorrhage is the leading cause of preventable combat-related deaths. The vast majority of these deaths occur in the field before the injured can be transported to a treatment facility. ⋯ A number of hemostatic agents have recently been deployed to the warfront that can be used to arrest bleeding before surgical control of the source. The purpose of this article is to summarize the background information regarding these hemostatic agents, indications and rationale for their use, and characteristics of these products that may impact effectiveness.