Pragmatic Prehospital Group O Whole Blood Early Resuscitation Trial

Traumatic injury represents an incredible health care burden in the United States and worldwide. Hemorrhage is estimated to be responsible for over 40% of all trauma-related deaths. Ongoing traumatic blood loss is complicated by the well-known 'lethal triad' of coagulopathy, hypothermia and acidosis which results in further unbridled hemorrhage. Uncontrolled bleeding, resultant shock and organ dysfunction remain the leading causes of early in-hospital mortality. Despite advances in trauma resuscitation, a paucity of therapeutic interventions are available early enough to reduce the downstream morbidity and mortality attributable to hemorrhage, shock and coagulopathy.

In-hospital resuscitation of traumatic hemorrhage has changed over the past decade. The underlying principle of current resuscitation practice focuses on preventing or reversing the effects of coagulopathy with the early use of a balanced component transfusion strategy (1:1:1 - plasma: packed red blood cells: platelets). This reconstituted strategy has also been coined 'whole blood-like' resuscitation despite being inferior compositionally to whole blood. The use of whole blood was historically the gold standard for treating hemorrhagic shock during World War I and II, prior to sweeping changes in blood banking practice. Whole blood use continues today and is thought to provide the bleeding patient the identical components they are losing with maximal resuscitative and hemostatic effects.

Recent military experiences continue to show the benefits of fresh whole blood resuscitation demonstrating significant survival and hemostatic advantages. Whole blood has also been postulated to improve microcirculatory hemodynamics, reduce the 'storage lesion' effect and minimize donor exposure risks. A recent civilian study has also demonstrated benefit using modified whole blood after arrival to the hospital where appropriate blood typing and cross matching was performed prior to transfusion. Due to the time sensitive nature of the treatment of hemorrhage, the ideal resuscitation intervention would entail use of a blood product containing all essential hemostatic components, closest to time of injury, where prevention or reversal of the devastating downstream consequences of shock and coagulopathy can occur.

Initiation of whole blood resuscitation in the prehospital setting and continued through the in-hospital phase of treatment to patients in hemorrhagic shock represents this ideal intervention post-injury. Essential to the prehospital initiation of whole blood resuscitation in the civilian population is need for it to be transfused without the need for blood typing or cross matching. Of similar importance is the need for cold storage and recycling of any unused whole blood product, allowing maximal utility of this precious resource.

Based upon the belief that early whole blood resuscitation represents the most efficacious hemostatic resuscitation product for the management of hemorrhage, the University of Pittsburgh is currently utilizing cold stored, low titer, platelet replete-leukocyte reduced, group O whole blood (LTLR-WB) for urgent release in the emergency department, without the need for blood typing or cross matching, for patients in hemorrhagic shock. The hypothesis is that the initiation of LTLR-WB resuscitation in the prehospital setting with continuation through the in-hospital acute resuscitation phase of care will significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality attributable to hemorrhagic shock post-injury as compared to standard prehospital and in-hospital resuscitation practice. Thus, a large pragmatic clinical trial is needed to definitively establish the efficacy and safety of whole blood resuscitation initiated in the prehospital setting. Only a high quality clinical trial will provide the essential evidence to justify and provide the impetus for the use of this precious blood banking resource early post-injury. Because of the challenges associated with execution of these types of large trials particularly in the prehospital setting, it is essential to establish feasibility of this approach in a pilot study and provide experience to inform a definitive large, multicenter whole blood trial. The University of Pittsburgh has a track record of prehospital interventional trials post-injury and the clinical research infrastructure to successfully execute the following this trial.