Lessons Learned From the Battlefield and Applicability to Veterinary Medicine – Part 2: Transfusion Advances

Abstract

Since the inception of recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, transfusion practices in human military medicine have advanced considerably. Today, US military physicians recognize the need to replace the functionality of lost blood in traumatic hemorrhagic shock and whole blood is now the trauma resuscitation product of choice on the battlefield. Building on wartime experiences, military medicine is now one of the country's strongest advocates for the principle of hemostatic resuscitation using whole blood or balanced blood components as the primary means of resuscitation as early as possibly following severe trauma. Based on strong evidence to support this practice in human combat casualties and in civilian trauma care, military veterinarians strive to practice similar hemostatic resuscitation for injured Military Working Dogs. To this end, canine whole blood has become increasingly available in forward environments, and non-traditional storage options for canine blood and blood components are being explored for use in canine trauma. Blood products with improved shelf-life and ease of use are not only useful for military applications, but may also enable civilian general and specialty practices to more easily incorporate hemostatic resuscitation approaches to canine trauma care.