Transfusion Therapy
Exsanguination occurs rapidly after trauma (median 2 to 3 hours after admission) and is the leading cause of preventable trauma deaths. The modern treatment for traumatic hemorrhagic shock is simultaneous mechanical hemorrhage control and damage control resuscitation (DCR), which emphasizes using plasma as the primary means for volume expansion. Other core DCR principles include minimization of crystalloid, permissive hypotension, and goal-directed resuscitation. The treatment of traumatic hemorrhage is complicated by trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC); DCR is thought to address TIC directly despite incomplete understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Recent data point to a 1:1:1 ratio of plasma and platelets to red blood cells as the optimal blood product ratio for acute traumatic hemorrhage. However, this paradigm may soon be supplanted by a transition back to whole blood. Although it is intuitive to apply these same protocols and algorithms to patients with nontraumatic hemorrhage, the scientific evidence is lacking. Key words: endotheliopathy, hemorrhage, massive transfusion, trauma-induced coagulopathy