Is prehospital blood transfusion effective and safe in haemorrhagic trauma patients? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Worldwide, 5.1 million people die every year as a result of traumatic injuries, of which 1 million are in Europe [1]. These traumatic injuries often result in death by major haemorrhage that could have been prevented in an estimated 29% of the civilian and 24% of the military casualties [2,3]. The introduction of prehospital blood-component transfusion (PHBT) with packed red blood cells (pRBCs), fresh frozen plasma (FFP), freeze dried plasma (FDP), or platelets in addition to the individual use of crystalloids – has improved remote damage control and made haemostatic volume replacement possible early after trauma.

Source: Injury - March 20, 2019 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Tim W.H. Rijnhout, Kimberley E. Wever, H.A.R. Marinus, N. Hoogerwerf, L.M.G Geeraedts, E.C.T.H. Tan Source Type: research