U.S. Army Medical Department journal
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The lessons learned regarding the resuscitation of traumatic hemorrhagic shock are numerous and come from a better understanding of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and experience in this population over 10-plus years of combat operations. We have now come to better understand that the greatest benefit in survival can come from improved treatment of hemorrhage in the prehospital phase of care. ⋯ Appreciation of the importance of shock and coagulopathy management underlies the emphasis on early hemostatic resuscitation. Most importantly, we have learned that there is still much more to understand regarding the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and the resuscitation strategies required to improve outcomes for casualties with hemorrhagic shock.
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Given the recent success of emergency tourniquets, limb exsanguination is no longer the most common cause of preventable death on the battlefield; hemorrhage amenable to truncal tourniquets now is. The purpose of the present study is to discuss the gaps today in battlefield hemorrhage control and candidate solutions in order to stimulate the advancement of prehospital combat casualty care. ⋯ In order to solve the now most common cause of preventable death on the battlefield, junctional hemorrhage from the pelvic area, the planned approach is a systematic review of research, device and model development, and the fielding of a good device with appropriate training and doctrine.
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Historically, hemorrhage accounts for the primary cause of death on the battlefield in conventional warfare. In addition, hemorrhage was associated with 85% of potentially survivable deaths in the current conflicts, approximately two-thirds of which were from noncompressible injuries. Future combat casualty care strategies suggest the likelihood of long transport times or significant time delays in evacuation of casualties. ⋯ Since the medic has few options for treating noncompressible injuries short of infusing fluid to maintain a blood pressure, the concept of damage control resuscitation was developed to promote hemostatic resuscitation. Damage control resuscitation recommends limiting the amount of crystalloids or colloids infused and using plasma and other blood products in more optimal ratios for the treatment of severe hemorrhage to improve battlefield survival and to reduce or prevent early and late deleterious sequelae. Taken together, these efforts have important implications towards the development of optimal fluid resuscitation strategies for stabilization of the combat casualty.
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Uncontrolled hemorrhage remains the leading cause of potentially preventable death in combat casualties. In the current conflict, nearly two-thirds of these deaths occurred as a result of torso injuries with noncompressible hemorrhage and one-third from extremity injuries with compressible bleeding. ⋯ To provide combat medics with the best means of treating hemorrhages, it is essential to understand the mechanism of action, efficacy strength, and possible adverse effects of each available hemostatic agent. In this article, we review the risks and benefits of the agents/dressings that have been used on the battlefield, the process that led to the selection of the new agents, and the present deficiencies that must be addressed in the development of new products.
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The US Army has been charged to transform to meet the demands of current and anticipated near-future combat needs, covering a full spectrum of military operations. The US Army combat trauma care system was created to deliver combat casualty care in a variety of situations and has been adapted to meet the needs of such care in both Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Questions related to our current system include the use and positioning of medical evacuation assets, the type of training for our trauma care providers, the positioning of these providers in proximity to the battlefield, and the type of units most suited to the wide variety of medical operations required of today's military medical team. ⋯ We reviewed trauma literature regarding the areas of civilian trauma systems, military trauma systems, presurgical trauma care, medical evacuation times, and the medical evacuation system. Among the conclusions drawn from the reviewed data include the following: regional trauma systems improve outcomes in significantly-injured patients; rural trauma care as part of a trauma system yields improved results compared to nontrauma hospitals and comparable results to those at a higher level center; and delivery of advanced trauma life support care has the potential to extend the period of time of safe medical evacuation to surgical capabilities. These lessons are used to discuss components of an improved system of trauma care, flexible for the varied needs of modern battlefield trauma and adaptable to provide support for anticipated future conflicts.