ACEPNow - By Anton Helman - May 18, 2021
“Outcomes in polytrauma depend not only on prompt recognition of occult shock and early source control of bleeding but on having a standardized massive hemorrhage protocol (MHP) that enables rapid and coordinated delivery of lifesaving blood products and medications. Observational data suggest that every one-minute delay in administering the first blood product to the exsanguinating polytrauma patient is associated with a 5 percent increase in mortality.
Historically, the definition of massive transfusion protocol is the administration of 10 units of red cells over 24 hours. This definition, however, is inadequate for short ED stays.4 And it’s not just transfusion. We also have to initiate a series of adjacent and often crucial actions simultaneously. MHP places the emphasis on the early, timely administration of blood products, ancillary medications such as tranexamic acid, precise clinical and laboratory monitoring and targets, temperature control, and hemorrhage control…”