Appendix, Gallbladder and Surgical Emergencies · 31 March 2026

Prehospital Whole Blood Transfusion Not Superior in Trauma

Prehospital whole-blood transfusion does not improve outcomes for major traumatic hemorrhage compared to standard blood component therapy.

In a study of 616 patients, 48.7% in the whole-blood group and 47.7% in standard care experienced death or massive transfusion within 24 hours (p=0.84).
Serious adverse events occurred more frequently in the standard-care group (37 vs. 31 in the whole-blood group).

Surgical teams should evaluate the use of whole blood in prehospital settings with caution, as benefits over traditional methods are not supported by this trial.

Journal Article by Smith JE, Cardigan R (…) Green L et 22 al. in N Engl J Med

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