• J Holcomb, M MacPhee, S Hetz, R Harris, A Pusateri, and J Hess.
• Department of Surgery, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, Tex, USA.
• Arch Surg Chicago. 1998 Jan 1;133(1):32-5.

ObjectiveTo determine if a dry fibrin sealant dressing (DFSD) will provide superior hemostasis when compared with regular gauze in a ballistic injury animal model.DesignA nonsurvival randomized goat study.SettingA federal biomedical research institute.SubjectsEighteen anesthetized Angora goats.InterventionsUncontrolled hemorrhage was induced by a complex ballistic extremity injury. Control of hemorrhage was achieved by applying and holding pressure with the DFSD or regular gauze for 2 minutes. The dressings were left in place for 1 hour.Main Outcome MeasuresTotal blood loss, mean arterial pressure, ballistic injury, and mortality were recorded after 1 hour.ResultsThe injuries were equivalent for the 2 groups. No animal mortality was seen. After 1 hour, the mean (+/-SEM) blood loss was 124+/-64 mL in the DFSD-treated group and 377+/-64 mL in the gauze dressings-treated group (P=.01). Twenty minutes after injury, the mean arterial pressure was 95.0 mm Hg (+/-SEM, +/-4.7 mm Hg) in the DFSD-treated group and 70.0+/-5.0 mm Hg in the gauze dressings-treated group. The difference persisted for the remainder of the study (P=.01).ConclusionThe DFSD was superior to gauze in decreasing blood loss and maintaining blood pressure while retaining the simplicity of standard dressing application.

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