Methods for improved hemorrhage control

Trauma is the leading cause of death from age 1 to 34 years and is the fifth leading cause of death overall in the USA, with uncontrolled hemorrhage being the leading cause of potentially preventable death. Improving our ability to control hemorrhage may represent the next major hurdle in reducing trauma mortality. New techniques, devices, and drugs for hemorrhage control are being developed and applied across the continuum of trauma care: prehospital, emergency room, and operative and postoperative critical care. This brief review focuses on drugs directed at life-threatening hemorrhage. The most important of these new drugs are injectable hemostatics, fibrin foams, and dressings. The available animal studies are encouraging and human studies are required.