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BACKGROUND

Trauma hemorrhage continues to carry a high mortality rate despite changes in modern practice. Traditional approaches to the massively bleeding patient have been shown to result in persistent coagulopathy, bleeding, and poor outcomes. Hemostatic (or damage control) resuscitation developed from the discovery of acute traumatic coagulopathy and increased recognition of the negative consequences of dilutional coagulopathy. These strategies concentrate on early delivery of coagulation therapy combined with permissive hypotension. The efficacy of hemostatic resuscitation in correcting coagulopathy and restoring tissue perfusion during acute hemorrhage has not been studied.

METHODS

This is a prospective cohort study of ROTEM and lactate measurements taken from trauma patients recruited to the multicenter Activation of Coagulation and Inflammation in Trauma (ACIT) study. A blood …