MANCHESTER, England, April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
The US military are adopting new technologies to save soldiers' lives on the battlefield, with the approval of a bandage that can stop catastrophic arterial bleeding in three minutes. The Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC), which is responsible for recommending the frontline medic training and equipment for all US front line troops, voted to approve the use of Celox Gauze, paving the way for troops to include it in their packs.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140415/680956 )
The US Navy tested five treatments in the lead-up to this decision and Celox Gauze had the highest rate of survivability of any of them. Celox has a unique technology that allows it to work on the most severe bleeding where current treatments are not effective. It looks like a simple gauze bandage, but has been coated with Celox Granules to give its unique properties. In many of the worst injuries, the blood lost causes the body's natural clotting abilities to fail, but Celox acts independently of the blood's clotting mechanism and continues to work even in this situation, where other treatments that use the blood's natural mechanisms may fail.
The treatment is also fully FDA cleared and has been in use with British and other ISAF troops for some time, with excellent results (see Box).
CASE STUDY
Celox Gauze has been used in Afghanistan on gunshot and other injuries. Here is a typical report, in this case from a Dutch military medical unit:
The patient had several gunshot wounds to an arm, leg and buttock. Bleeding was most persistent from the buttock wound. Packing with sterile gauze was not enough to stop the blood flow, so Celox Gauze was packed in to the wound and stopped the bleeding. The Celox was removed 24 hours later and there was no more bleeding in that time.
Chris Marsden from MedTrade said, "Celox works alongside other innovations from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as the new tourniquets and drugs that help keep blood clots intact. It stops bleeding with simple pressure and is suitably rugged for front-line use. We're delighted with this review by the CoTCCC and to be able to make a difference in this area."
The US military review follows a recent trend of civilian emergency services reviewing their plans and taking on new treatments, partly in response to the tragedies of the Boston marathon bombing. For example, in the Massachusetts area around Boston the regional council for Homeland Security has prescribed new haemorrhage control kits for their responders which include the Celox bandages.
Notes to Editors
Haemorrhage is the leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield as well as one of the major causes of civilian trauma death. Traumatic injury is a leading cause of mortality in adults up to age 40.
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