J Trauma
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Pulmonary dysfunction after smoke inhalation and thermal injury is associated with excessive morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate alveolar leukocyte function after thermal injury and smoke inhalation. ⋯ Smoke inhalation induces a massive influx of alveolar leukocytes that are primed for an early, enhanced LPS-activated cytokine response compared with alveolar leukocytes isolated after burn injury alone or normal controls.
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An effective hemostatic agent capable of stopping severe arterial bleeding and sustaining hemostasis over a prolonged time is required. The U.S. Army recently distributed fibrin sealant (under an Investigational New Drug-approved protocol) and chitosan dressings among deployed medics for treating severe external hemorrhage on the battlefield. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of these dressings, as compared with the standard gauze army field dressing, to provide initial and sustained hemostasis up to 96 hours in a lethal uncontrolled arterial hemorrhage model. ⋯ Both chitosan dressing and fibrin sealant dressing stopped initial arterial bleeding that could not be controlled by the standard army field dressing. However, although the fibrin sealant dressing secured hemostasis for up to 4 days, the chitosan dressing consistently failed within 2 hours after application. There may be a risk of rebleeding for high-pressure arterial wounds treated with chitosan dressings, particularly in situations where definitive care is delayed substantially.