Martial arts technique for control of severe external bleeding.

OBJECTIVES: Haemorrhage control is a critical component of preventing traumatic death. Other than the battlefield, haemostatic devices, such as tourniquets or bandages, may not be available, allowing for significant avoidable blood loss. We hypothesised that compression of vascular pressure points using a position adapted from the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu could be adapted to decrease blood flow velocity in major extremity arteries. METHODS: Knee mount compression was applied to the shoulder, groin and abdomen of healthy adult volunteer research subjects from Seattle, Washington, USA, from March through May 2018. Mean arterial blood flow velocity (MAV) was measured using ultrasound in the brachial and femoral arteries before and after compression. A MAV decrease greater than 20% with compression was deemed clinically relevant. RESULTS: For 11 subjects, median (IQR) MAV combining all anatomical locations tested was 29.2 (34.1, 24.1) cm/s at baseline and decreased to 3.3 (0, 19.1) cm/s during compression (Wilcoxon p<0.001). MAV was significantly decreased during compression for each individual anatomical position tested (Wilcoxon p≤0.004). Per cent (95% CI) MAV reduction was significantly greater than 20% for shoulder compression at 97.5%(94% to 100%) and groin compression at 78%(56% to 100%), but was not statistically greater for abdominal compression at 35%(12% to 57%). Complete vessel occlusion was most common with compression at the shoulder (73%), followed by groin (55%) and abdomen (9%) (χ² LR, p=0.018). CONCLUSION: The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu knee mount position can significantly decrease blood flow in major arteries of the extremities. This technique may be useful for bleeding control after injury.

Fibrinogen concentrate improves survival during limited resuscitation of uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock in a Swine model.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of fibrinogen concentrate, as a hemostatic agent, on limited resuscitation of uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock. We use a swine model of hemorrhagic shock with free bleeding from a 4-mm aortic tear to test the effect of adding a one-time dose of fibrinogen concentrate given at the onset of limited fluid resuscitation. Immature female swine were anesthetized and subjected to catheter hemorrhage and aortic tear to induce uniform hemorrhagic shock. Animals (n = 7 per group) were then randomized to receive (i) no fluid resuscitation (neg control) or (ii) limited resuscitation in the form of two boluses of 10 mL/kg of 6% hydroxyethyl starch solution given 30 min apart (HEX group), or (iii) the same fluid regimen with one dose of 120-mg/kg fibrinogen concentrate given with the first hydroxyethyl starch bolus (FBG). Animals were then observed for a total of 6 h with aortic repair and aggressive resuscitation with shed blood taking place at 3 h. Survival to 6 h was significantly increased with FBG (7/8, 86%) versus HEX (2/7, 29%) and neg control (0/7, 0%) (FBG vs. HEX, Kaplan-Meier log-rank P = 0.035). Intraperitoneal blood loss adjusted for survival time was increased in HEX (0.4 mL/kg per minute) when compared with FBG (0.1 mg/kg per minute, P = 0.047) and neg control (0.1 mL/kg per minute, P = 0.041). Systemic and cerebral hemodynamics also showed improvement with FBG versus HEX. Fibrinogen concentrate may be a useful adjunct to decrease blood loss, improve hemodynamics, and prolong survival during limited resuscitation of uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock.