Evaluation of techniques for treating the bleeding wound

BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that the urgent control of active bleeding from external body surfaces demands a basic procedure, it is puzzling that this topic has received little if any attention in modern medical research. Elastic adhesive dressing (ELAD) has been proposed for dressing the bleeding wound. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Three techniques were compared over a simulated wound in a human model. Pressures generated between the chosen dressing surface and the underlying mock wound's cutaneous surface, time consumption, convenience, satisfaction and pain were tested for each technique. RESULTS: Sixty-eight experiments were performed over nine separate anatomical sites. Average pressures for field dressing, ELAD and manual compression were 33, 88 and 180 mmHg, respectively; these differences in pressure were statistically significant. Manual pressure was equally inconvenient for both patient and caregiver. The more proximal and wider anatomical regions were more difficult and time consuming to compress. The caregivers graded ELAD the highest level of convenience and general satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Field bandage testing reflected its inadequacy in controlling bleeding from most body regions. The results suggest that ELAD may be the hands-free technique of choice. We hope that this article will stimulate further research and elicit evidence on precisely which technique is most suitable for various anatomical location.