Despite significant advances in medical technology and science, trauma remains the leading cause of mortality with the greatest threat to a trauma injury being blood loss. Overall 25% of severely injured patients have an established trauma-induced coagulopathy on arrival to the emergency department. These complications can be successfully prevented with the use of a haemostatic gauze.
Haemostatic agents come in a range of different variations but they are all manufactured with the sole purpose to promote clot formation through absorption and dehydration. If we look at a military setting approximately 50% of all combat fatalities were from a haemorrhage related injury. So haemostatic dressings were specifically designed to address these type of wounds whereby medical care was not easily accessible.
Looking particularly at a trauma first aid kit, haemostatic agents are a more effective way of controlling a bleed over a plain gauze and should be considered an essential item within your trauma first aid kit alongside tourniquets, trauma dressings and bleeding packs.
There are many different haemostatic agents on the market such as WoundClot, QuickClot, Celox & ChitoSAM all are designed to promote rapid blood coagulation. Suitable for various training levels these products are now being widely used to stop traumatic bleeding in civilian settings such as the workplace, motor vehicles and at-home accidents.
QuikClot
Is slightly different from other haemostatic agents, it contains no ingredients that are derived from animal proteins, human proteins, shellfish or botanicals. It is saturated with kaolin which accelerated the body’s natural clotting ability and produces low-to-no adverse reactions.
Celox
Like other haemostatic agents, Celox uses a derivative of chitosan which is a sugar that is obtained from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish. Using these microscopic flakes means they can be highly compressed over a large surface to rapidly promote coagulation. Using a natural substance means that there is no exothermic reaction of damage to the surrounding tissues. Celox products are available in both a gauze form or granules which allows for treatment to a wider range of trauma injuries where a gauze would not be suitable i.e. a scalp avulsion.
ChitoSAM
Unlike most haemostatic dressing ChitoSAM 100 is made from 100% non-woven chitosan gauze which is spun directly from chitosan. Due to the non-woven element this product has been independently tested and is proven to perform provide haemostasis 3x faster than other gauzes readily available.
As haemorrhage is still the primary cause of preventable death in many accidents and military environments, time is critical. Having a haemostatic gauze on hand to be able to plug the wound could mean a matter of life or death.
When using a haemostatic gauze it is important to cover the entire bleeding surface and where necessary use another gauze on top if bleeding soaks through the first layer. If the wound is deep then it may be necessary to use other dressings on top to provide bulk and pressure to the wound. Haemostatic dressings are to be used alongside other methods of bleeding control practices following the guidelines given.
Please Note: All haemostatic gauzes are to only be used by trained professionals. Improper use can be dangerous and life-threatening.
View our full range of haemorrhage control products online here. If you need more advice on any haemostatic agents or trauma first aid kits mentioned above please call on 01952 56 56 56.
Sources:
https://www.rescue-essentials.com/hemostatics-1/ | https://www.jems.com/2008/02/29/use-hemostatic-dressings-civil/ | https://quikclot.com/QuikClot/About-QuikClot | https://www.woundclot.com/ | https://www.sammedical.com/products/chitosam | https://www.celoxmedical.com