Question About Clot Promoting Dressings

[Cup of Joe]

So I was doing some reading about things like Quickclot and Chitosan dressings. Some of these clotting agents are made from chemicals in the shells of shrimp and other shellfish. My question is: would it be dangerous using this on someone who has a shellfish allergy?

 

[TransportJockey]

Bad. Very very bad

 

[rwik123]

Bad. Very very bad

Actually that's false. Hemcon, the manufactures of hemostat products conducted a study with chitosan. 221 people with hypersensitivity to shellfish including 8 with known allergies were :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored:ed with chitosan. None demonstrated any dermal changes or reactions to the substance.

 

[rwik123]

And the forum censored the word p-r-i-c-k-e-d

 

[abckidsmom]

So I was doing some reading about things like Quickclot and Chitosan dressings. Some of these clotting agents are made from chemicals in the shells of shrimp and other shellfish. My question is: would it be dangerous using this on someone who has a shellfish allergy?

The shellfish allergy comes from a sensitivity in the patients immune system to a specific protein in the meat. I don't know about the products you're talking about specifically, but it wouldn't affect people who are allergic.

 

[mycrofft]

You learn something daily around here!

QuickClot is NOT the same as Chitosan!
QuickClot uses kaolin (a special fine clay used in Kaopectate and fine bone china) which activates Factor XII in the clotting cascade. The clay is inert.
http://www.z-medica.com/healthcare/How-QuikClot-Works/FAQs.aspx#faq_6

Chitosan-type dressings use a very versatile long chain sugar derived from crustacean shells. It is a class of dressing, and is made by m ultiple companies. They claim that followup testing of suspected rare allergic reaction patients with subdermal innoculation came up negative; however, they say shellfish allergic individuals shodl "be cautious".
http://www.interventionalhp.com/faq.php#1h

Sidebar: spidersilk, used for similar uses in European traditional medicine (people and cattle) is formed of amino acids in "beta folds", which probably offer a mechanical scaffold for clots to form.

Interesting.

 

[abckidsmom]

QuickClot is NOT the same as Chitosan!
QuickClot uses kaolin (a special fine clay used in Kaopectate and fine bone china) which activates Factor XII in the clotting cascade. The clay is inert.
http://www.z-medica.com/healthcare/How-QuikClot-Works/FAQs.aspx#faq_6

Wow! That's really cool! Who woulds thunkit?

Chitosan-type dressings use a very versatile long chain sugar derived from crustacean shells. It is a class of dressing, and is made by m ultiple companies. They claim that followup testing of suspected rare allergic reaction patients with subdermal innoculation came up negative; however, they say shellfish allergic individuals shodl "be cautious".
http://www.interventionalhp.com/faq.php#1h

Sidebar: spidersilk, used for similar uses in European traditional medicine (people and cattle) is formed of amino acids in "beta folds", which probably offer a mechanical scaffold for clots to form.

Interesting.

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting.

 

[rwik123]

Have hemostats been incorporated into any systems in the US? I know the military standard is quickclot combat gauze so the allergy issue isn't a problem.

 

[webster44]

Louisiana region one protocols (which includes new orleans)
Specify hemostatics for uncontrolled extremity bleeds

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[abckidsmom]

Have hemostats been incorporated into any systems in the US? I know the military standard is quickclot combat gauze so the allergy issue isn't a problem.

I know of a system in the NOVA region that uses them.

 

[firecoins]

they are used in the NY's Hudson Valley region.

 

[STXmedic]

One of my systems uses QuickClot, the other uses Celox. Our PD here also carries Celox

 

[socalmedic]

http://www.emsa.ca.gov/personnel/Lo...ments/files/Hemostatic Agents (July 2010).pdf

shockingly California says it might be ok to use... but only combat gauze is ok:rofl: the rest require too much thinking.

 

[jjesusfreak01]

Wake County TAC medics can use hemostatic dressings now.

It sounds like this may be expanded to all levels (of properly trained personnel) in the case of mass casually incidents like school shootings.