Pre-Hospital Whole Blood Shows Promise for Blunt Trauma Resuscitation

Whole blood (WB) transfusion in pre-hospital settings may enhance survival for blunt trauma patients compared to packed red blood cells (PRBCs).

• Patients needing transfusions saw lower in-hospital blood requirements with WB (2 units vs. 3 PRBCs, p < 0.001).
• No significant differences in overall mortality at 24 hours (3.5% for WB vs. 6.25% for PRBCs, p = 0.34) or hospital discharge (7.1% vs. 13.7%, p = 0.11).
• However, WB showed a clear benefit for blunt injuries, with survival rates of 94.1% versus 79.5% for PRBCs (p = 0.02).

Consider adopting pre-hospital WB strategies for better outcomes in blunt trauma cases.