Each year, approx. 200,000 Americans lose their lives to trauma. After a traumatic injury, hemorrhage is responsible for over 35% of pre-hospital deaths and over 40% of deaths within the first 24 hours. A cascade of life-threatening medical conditions can occur simultaneously: 1) hemorrhage, 2) impaired resuscitation, 3) shock, 4) inflammation and 5) coagulopathy. Appropriate management of the massively bleeding trauma patient includes the early identification of bleeding sources followed by prompt measures to minimize blood loss, restore tissue perfusion, and to achieve
hemodynamic stability.
Severe bleeding wounds that cannot be treated with standard hemostatic methods remain the number one cause of potentially preventable death among combat casualties. A review of lethal wounds in autopsy reports of combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan revealed that nearly 24% could have been potentially prevented if early and effective treatments had been provided. Of those potentially preventable deaths, 85% were caused by uncontrolled hemorrhage. These findings emphasize the need for prompt and more effective hemorrhage control treatment in the field and within combat support hospitals.