Current sports medicine reports
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Curr Sports Med Rep · Mar 2015
ReviewThe lost art of whole blood transfusion in austere environments.
The optimal resuscitation fluid for uncontrolled bleeding and hemorrhagic shock in both pre- and in-hospital settings has been an ongoing controversy for decades. Hemorrhage continues to be a major cause of death in both the civilian and military trauma population, and survival depends on adequacy of hemorrhage control and resuscitation between onset of bleeding and arrival at a medical treatment facility. ⋯ The relative austerity of a treatment setting may be a function of timing rather than just location, as life-saving interventions must be performed quickly before hemorrhagic shock becomes irreversible. Fresh whole blood transfusions in the field may be a feasible life-saving procedure when facing significant hemorrhage.