Quik-Clot

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AS Far as I know Quikclot is still being used in the Iraqi
theater. I've been retired about 5 months now and so have
been out of the loop. My personal experience with it wasn't
especially impressive other than having to clean it up, the
thermal problems were, again in my experience, annecdotal. 

As Stephen notes I think one of the major problems with it
and some of the other products is that they tend to become
an excuse for incomplete training and, when introduced at
the lowest levels, become a wonder cure for all that ails
you. I saw the same thing with tourniquet use and, while
there is absolutely no doubt that tourniquets have saved
many lives in Iraq, they were being applied in place of
proper dressing (granted that in the field proper dressing
sometimes becomes a luxury). At any rate I was actually
told as part of my training (same as the enlisted folks
got- one size fits all but it was enlightening)that
touriquets could be left in place for 24 hours and when I
suggested that perhaps this was not the way to go I was
told not to upset the apple cart.

Anyway we have to remember that many of these products are
being touted by people with a personal stake in there use.
I recently pulled out a couple of reviews on all the
products. I'm on the road at present and my computer has
crashed so I'm relying on internet cafes and hotel access
points but if anyone is interested once I get someplace
stable I will be happy to forward them, they're not hard to
find with google scholar.

I'm sure others out there have had different experiences
with all of these products

R Wigle 
--- Stephen Richey <stephen.richey at gmail.com> wrote:

> I am not certain if it is still being used in Iraq and
> Afghanistan or not.
> I have only anecdotal evidence (n= ~5) for the use of
> Quikclot in my
> personal experience (in civilian situations), but I have
> to say I wasn't
> that impressed by it.  It just seems to make one heck of
> a mess of things
> but not really do much in the way of hemostasis beyond
> what you would
> normally get from a pressure dressing.  I used to teach
> the US Army combat
> lifesaver course (last time I taught it was in 2003) and
> I personally
> deemphasized (I covered it but put a word of caution in
> the presentation
> about the hazards of relying upon such agents when more
> efficacious methods
> exist) the use of currently available hemostatic agents
> in favor of
> aggressive use of pressure dressings and tourniquets for
> immediate
> hemorrhage control on extremities, particularly in a care
> under fire
> setting.
> 
> If I can offer any further information on the US
> military's training, please
> let me know.  If I don't have a solid answer for you, I
> can put you in touch
> with some contacts of mine who might be better positioned
> to advise you.
> Feel free to contact me off the list.  Have a nice day.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Stephen L. Richey, CRT
> 
> "It is better to know some of the questions than all of
> the answers."- James
> Thurber
> --
> trauma-list : TRAUMA.ORG
> To change your settings or unsubscribe visit:
> http://www.trauma.org/index.php?/community/
> 



       
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