Bleeding often poses significant life-threatening situations to surgeons. After trauma, a one-third of civilian casualties and one-half of combat casualties die as a result of exsanguination. Recent advances have provided promising new hemostatic dressings that are applied directly to severely bleeding wounds in the pre-hospital period.
The modified Rapid Deployment Hemostat (mRDH) trauma/surgery bandage, containing fully acetylated, diatom-derived, poly-N-acetyl-glucosamine fibers, has a unique multifactorial hemostatic action that incorporates vasoconstriction, erythrocyte agglutination, and platelet and RBC activation.
Animal studies have shown that the mRDH bandage quickly and completely stops both venous and arterial bleeding, even in the presence of a coagulopathy. A prospective study in humans is in accord with these findings.
The mRDH trauma/surgery bandage was able to increase survival of patients after high-grade liver trauma with an associated coagulopathy. Additional clinical studies support this result.
From the Naval Blood Research Laboratory, Inc. (C.R.V.), Boston, Massachusetts; and Marine Polymer Technologies, Inc. (J.N.V.), Burlington, Massachusetts.
Submitted for publication March 16, 2011.
Accepted for publication May 19, 2011.
Address for reprints: John N. Vournakis, PhD, Marine Polymer Technologies, Inc., 24 New England Executive Park, Suite 210, Burlington, MA 01803; email: johnv@webmpt.com.
