Essential Blood Clotting Products Used in Trauma Care
Major, rapid blood loss presents a highly time-sensitive threat to the life of any casualty suffering from a traumatic injury. Haemorrhage is the ‘leading cause of preventable death in combat trauma and the secondary cause of death in civilian trauma’, so having the right trauma supplies on hand to prevent blood loss is essential. When you’re faced with treating a casualty with major bleeding, your first priority is to control and stop the blood flow from haemorrhaging wound areas to increase the victim’s chance of survival.
The primary goal of trauma care is to establish successful homeostasis by stopping blood from rapidly leaving the body from wound areas. While traditional, widely practised bleed control techniques include the sustained application of pressure to the wound site, and elevation, sometimes further measures should be taken to stop heavy bleeding. Advanced life support equipment such as S.T.A.T tourniquets are highly effective. Using blood clotting products used in trauma care can significantly improve homeostasis and promote blood coagulation to keep a patient stable while awaiting professional medical care.
This article will explore how commonly used haemostats work and take you through some of the best haemostatic dressings and blood clotting products available.
Topical Haemostatic Dressings are an Effective Solution
A 2018 clinical review of topical haemostats in trauma and emergency surgery found that ‘haemostatic dressings represent a valuable option in case of external haemorrhage at junctional sites or when tourniquets are impractical or ineffective.’
The dictionary definition of a haemostat is:
A surgical instrument that stops bleeding by compression of a blood vessel
Or
A chemical agent that retards or stops bleeding
Ultimately, a topical haemostatic agent or dressing is a product that can be applied to a bleeding wound area locally to promote blood clotting, which will slow or stop blood flow, reducing the risk of lethal haemorrhaging. Haemostatic dressings work most effectively when used in conjunction with the sustained application of direct pressure to a wound and can also provide bleed control solutions in situations where applying pressure is not possible or feasible.
Topical haemostats, which are some of the primary blood clotting products used in trauma care, can be classified into the following three categories. Each work to promote blood clotting in different ways:
Mucoadhesive agents
Mucoadhesives work by sticking to the damaged tissues of a wound site, creating a physical seal where the blood stops and begins to clot. The most common mucoadhesive blood clotting products used in trauma care are made from chitosan, which is a biodegradable polymer derived from crustaceans. Chitosan cells are positively charged, so when they come into contact with negatively charged red blood cells, the two components bind, resulting in rapid clot formation and a gel-like layer over the wound area. Chitosan haemostatic products include gauze, dressings and powdered granules. Chitosan functions independently of the body’s natural clotting mechanism. It is effective in patients who take antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications or have blood conditions, as well as patients with normal, healthy blood.
Chitosan products are specially developed to act fast and be easy to use, even by non-medically trained responders. So, they are the ideal method for rapidly stopping a casualty from losing blood before being transported to a hospital or trauma unit.
Factor concentrators
These work by rapidly absorbing the water content of blood at the injury site, which concentrates the blood’s protein and cellular components to encourage coagulation (clot formation) which will stem the blood flow. Clotting sponges and polymer dressings fit into this category and are effective blood clotting products used in trauma care by helping blood to thicken. Haemostatic factor concentrators are usually used in patient care, such as during surgery, once they have arrived in a hospital or trauma centre, rather than in pre-hospital situations that require first aid.
Procoagulants
Procoagulant agents are mineral-based compounds that stimulate the natural coagulation process. Procoagulant haemostats cover the wound’s site with supplementary clotting agents to encourage and accelerate the body’s fibrin formation, which is the last stage of clot formation. Fibrin sealant products are classified as procoagulants, and these kinds of haemostats are usually used to control bleeding during surgery rather than in pre-hospital emergency first aid techniques.
Limited-time Offers
Save £105 on DefibSafe 3 Cabinets
Discounts on Industry-Leading Defibrillator Cabinets
Chitosan Blood Clotting Products Used in Trauma Care
Steroplast has been a proud medical supplier to the NHS, the UK’s emergency and ambulance services, and the military for over 25 years. With this experience, you can trust Steroplast’s range of lifesaving haemostatic blood clotting products used in trauma care.
The mucoadhesive properties of chitosan make it an ideal haemostatic agent for trauma applications where a casualty is suffering from significant, rapid blood loss and is awaiting transfer to professional care. Using chitosan haemostats is well-established in pre-hospital emergency care and many tactical military situations.
Steroplast stocks a range of chitosan-impregnated trauma care products that are proven to promote clot formation and save lives. Take a look through our comprehensive range of chitosan haemostatic products below.
ChitoSAM 100 Haemostatic Dressing
The ChitoSAM 100 is a non-woven dressing manufactured from 100% chitosan. A high-performance and fast-acting haemostatic dressing developed to stop lethal bleeding when applied over a wound area.
ChitoSAM 100 is supplied in sealed, sterile packaging that’s easy to open, with a tear-anywhere design that allows for quick access from any side in situations when time is critical. SAM Medical developed it for use by the military, first responders and traumatic injury specialists to stop bleeding fast. The 10cm x 10cm single-ply dressing can be applied directly to a wound and used in addition to traditional gauzes or trauma dressings to promote blood clotting and seal a wound rapidly.
This 100% chitosan dressing is included in our premium quality Critical Injury First Aid Kit. Learn more about essential bleed control kits and trauma kit supplies on our blog.
Prometheus ChitoGauze® XR Pro
Prometheus ChitoGauze® XR Pro is a haemostatic chitosan-impregnated gauze designed to control moderate to severe haemorrhage and stop heavy bleeding.
ChitoGauze® has been developed as a topical haemostat that conforms to a wide range of wound shapes and sizes and is ideal for wound packing. Wound packing is recommended in the event of deep cuts such as stab or bullet wounds, where haemostatic ChitoGauze® is pushed inside a wound opening, filling the cavity and pressing chitosan onto exposed blood vessels inside to promote clotting across the entire surface of the wound area. This helps to manage internal bleeding and minimise continued blood loss.
ChitoGauze® is evenly coated with chitosan and has been developed to limit particle shedding into the wound. Each strip of gauze includes a radio-opaque strip to make it easy to identify during X-ray examination, helping to triage a casualty safely once under hospital care.
Watch this one-minute demo to learn how to use ChitoGauze® to pack wounds and promote blood clotting.
The Celox® Range of Topical Haemostats
Celox Medical has developed a range of haemostatic dressings, gauzes, and granules impregnated with chitosan to stop heavy bleeding. Celox®, which comes in granule form, is a biodegradable substance derived from highly purified chitosan that’s non-toxic and odourless. It promotes blood coagulation and helps to seal a bleeding wound fast. Like other products containing chitosan, Celox® is effective in promoting the formation of blood clots regardless of whether the patient is on blood thinners, has poor blood health, or suffers from hypothermia.
Celox® Rapid Z Fold Gauze
Celox® Rapid is the fastest-acting haemostatic gauze on the market today. Impregnated with Chito-R™, specially developed activated chitosan granules that work even faster than regular Celox® products. Celox® Rapid gauze can be applied on or packed into a wound and can stop bleeding rapidly, requiring only 60 seconds of compression to work.
Supplied in a sterile, sealed compact pack that’s easy to open for fast application, Celox® Rapid Z fold gauze is popular with the military to treat wounds quickly in tactical situations.
Celox® Haemostatic Gauze
Celox® Haemostatic Gauze is a high-density trauma gauze that’s ideal for packing deep wounds or dressing traumatic injuries. Evenly coated with Celox® haemostatic granules, this gauze operates the same way as Celox® Rapid and Celox® Granules products and is easy to apply. It was developed to support pre-hospital bleed control techniques adopted by first aiders, the emergency services and military units tasked with treating severe injuries fast to prevent life-threatening blood loss.
Celox® Heamostatic Granules
Chitosan Celox® Granules, supplied in a 15mg sachet, are designed for complex wounds, such as deep penetrations that are difficult to treat effectively with gauze or dressings. Simply sprinkle the Celox® granules over a wound to utilise the granules’ haemostatic effects and stop blood flow. The chitosan component works to form a gel-like layer that aids compression, resulting in clot formation that stops the bleeding.
Celox® Granules are biodegradable and non-toxic and can be easily removed from a wound area once coagulation has been achieved.
Celox®-A Prefilled Applicator
Celox® Granules are also available in an easy-to-use, prefilled applicator. Developed with penetrating injuries (such as a bullet or knife wounds) in mind, each applicator is pre-packed with 6g of haemostatic Celox® Granules that can reach an internal bleeding site in seconds, promoting coagulation and reducing blood loss.
View the latest issue of our
Advanced Life Support Downloadable Price Guide
Browse our catalogue of Advanced Life Support Products complete with end-user prices.
Other Haemorrhage Control Products from Steroplast
We’re committed to providing the emergency services, hospital sector, military, and first aiders with essential life-saving products to support effective responses to traumatic injuries and critical situations.
Along with our comprehensive range of haemostatic chitosan-impregnated blood clotting products used in trauma care, we stock a selection of premium bleed control products and trauma kits to meet your trauma equipment needs:
- Trauma Dressing
- Tactical Blast Bandage
- The Emergency Bandage - Haemorrhage Control Bandage
- Oales Modular Bandage
- Russell Chest Seal
- Corius Seal
- Celox Foxseal Chest Seal
- Celox Vented Foxseal
- Sof Tactical Tourniquet
- S.T.A.T Tourniquet
- Combat Application Tourniquet
- Public Access Trauma First Aid Kit
- Sterostop Bleed Control Kit
- Critical Injury First Aid Kit
Want to learn more about trauma care and wound management from industry experts? Check out these articles on our blog:
- What is a Wound Dressing?
- A Complete Guide to Wound Dressing
- Types of Wound Dressings
- What Is Saline Wound Wash and When Should You Use It?
- How Often Should You Change a Wound Dressing?
- Troubleshooting Wound Dressing: What To Do When Something Goes Wrong
- Equipment Needed For Wound Dressing (With A Printable Checklist)
- The Public Access Trauma (PAcT) First Aid Kit: What Business Owners Need to Know
- Bleeding Control Kits and Defibrillators: The Ideal Partnership?
- What Is A Tourniquet? Everything You Need To Know
- How To Apply A Tourniquet
Visit our
Interactive First Aid Guide
Demystify workplace first aid & find out exactly what your business needs.
Please enter your details into the form below along with any questions or comments and a member of our team will be happy to provide you with more information:
Protect your business
Bridge the Care Gap with Public Access Trauma Kits
Steroplast, CityCo, and Manchester City Council have distributed 180+ PAcT Kits across Manchester to bridge the critical care gap. In emergencies, these kits provide essential supplies to manage severe bleeding until paramedics arrive. Learn how to equip your venue and ensure you're prepared.