Risk of Harm Associated With Using Rapid Sequence Induction Intubation and Positive Pressure Ventilation in Patients With Hemorrhagic Shock.

Based on limited published evidence, physiological principles, clinical experience, and expertise, the author group has developed a consensus statement on the potential for iatrogenic harm with rapid sequence induction (RSI) intubation and positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) on patients in hemorrhagic shock. "In hemorrhagic shock, or any low flow (central hypovolemic) state, it should be noted that RSI and PPV are likely to cause iatrogenic harm by decreasing cardiac output." The use of RSI and PPV leads to an increased burden of shock due to a decreased cardiac output (CO)2 which is one of the primary determinants of oxygen delivery (DO2). The diminishing DO2 creates a state of systemic hypoxia, the severity of which will determine the magnitude of the shock (shock dose) and a growing deficit of oxygen, referred to as oxygen debt. Rapid accumulation of critical levels of oxygen debt results in coagulopathy and organ dysfunction and failure. Spontaneous respiration induced negative intrathoracic pressure (ITP) provides the pressure differential driving venous return. PPV subsequently increases ITP and thus right atrial pressure. The loss in pressure differential directly decreases CO and DO2 with a resultant increase in systemic hypoxia. If RSI and PPV are deemed necessary, prior or parallel resuscitation with blood products is required to mitigate post intervention reduction of DO2 and the potential for inducing cardiac arrest in the critically shocked patient.

A proposed field emergency donor panel questionnaire and triage tool.

BACKGROUND: The provision of transfusion support to isolated military or civilian projects may require the use of an emergency donor panel (EDP) for immediate warm fresh whole blood (WFWB). The aim of this short discussion article is to raise and resolve some of the practical aspects for the nonspecialist faced with the emergency collection of WFWB whole blood in the austere medical environment (AME). METHODS AND RESULTS: A proposed field EDP questionnaire and triage tool (QTT) is presented. It is designed for the hostile, remote, or austere environment that falls outside normal regulated supply of cold-stored blood products or removed from trained blood collection personnel, where collection may fall to an isolated medical provider. The tool has been drafted based on review of existing guidelines and consultation with practitioners. It serves as a point of reference for local guidelines and has yet to be validated. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the EDP is associated with risk; however, it remains the simplest method of providing rapid transfusion support. The best way to manage the risk is to brief and prescreen blood donors before deployment. An abbreviated donor QTT can be an aide to decision making at the time of donation. The tool should be tailored to requirements and underpinned by policy and training.

Challenges and possibilities in forward resuscitation.

The environmental and logistical constraints of the prehospital setting make it a challenging place for the treatment of trauma patients. This is perhaps more pronounced in the management of battlefield casualties before extraction to definitive care. In seeking solutions, interest has been renewed in implementing damage control resuscitation principles in the prehospital setting, a concept termed remote damage control resuscitation. These developments, while improving conflict survival rates, are not exclusive to the military environment, with similar situations existing in the civilian setting. By understanding the pathophysiology of shock, particularly the need for oxygen debt repayment, improvements in the assessment and management of trauma patients can be made. Technology gaps have previously hampered our ability to accurately monitor the prehospital trauma patient in real time. However, this is changing, with devices such as tissue hemoglobin oxygen saturation monitors and point-of-care lactate analysis currently being refined. Other monitoring modalities including newer signal analysis and artificial intelligence techniques are also in development. Advances in hemostatic resuscitation are being made as our understanding and ability to effectively monitor patients improve. The reevaluation of whole-blood use in the prehospital environment is yielding favorable results and challenging the negative dogma currently associated with its use. Management of trauma-related airway and respiratory compromise is evolving, with scope to improve on currently accepted practices. The purpose of this review is to highlight the challenges of treating patients in the prehospital setting and suggest potential solutions. In doing so, we hope to maintain the enthusiasm from people in the field and highlight areas for prehospital specific research and development, so that improved rates of casualty survival will continue.

Emergency whole-blood use in the field: a simplified protocol for collection and transfusion.

Military experience and recent in vitro laboratory data provide a biological rationale for whole-blood use in the treatment of exsanguinating hemorrhage and have renewed interest in the reintroduction of fresh whole blood and cold-stored whole blood to patient care in austere environments. There is scant evidence to support, in a field environment, that a whole blood-based resuscitation strategy is superior to a crystalloid/colloid approach even when augmented by a limited number of red blood cell (RBC) and plasma units. Recent retrospective evidence suggests that, in this setting, resuscitation with a full compliment of RBCs, plasma, and platelets may offer an advantage, especially under conditions where evacuation is delayed. No current evacuation system, military or civilian, is capable of providing RBC, plasma, and platelet units in a prehospital environment, especially in austere settings. As a result, for the vast minority of casualties, in austere settings, with life-threatening hemorrhage, it is appropriate to consider a whole blood-based resuscitation approach to provide a balanced response to altered hemostasis and oxygen debt, with the goal of reducing the risk of death from hemorrhagic shock. To optimize the successful use of fresh whole blood/cold-stored whole blood in combat field environments, proper planning and frequent training to maximize efficiency and safety will be required. Combat medics will need proper protocol-based guidance and education if whole-blood collection and transfusion are to be successfully and safely performed in austere environments. In this article, we present the Norwegian Naval Special Operation Commando unit-specific remote damage control resuscitation protocol, which includes field collection and transfusion of whole blood. This protocol can serve as a template for others to use and adjust for their own military or civilian unit-specific needs and capabilities for care in austere environments.