title: Fresh whole blood transfusion capability for Special Operations Forces.
abstract: Fresh whole blood (FWB) transfusion is an option for providing volume and oxygen carrying capacity to bleeding Special Operations soldiers who are injured in an austere environment and who are far from a regular blood bank. Retrospective data from recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan show an association between the use of FWB and survival. We reviewed the literature to document the issues surrounding FWB transfusion to Special Operations soldiers in the austere environment and surveyed the literature regarding best practice guidelines for and patient outcomes after FWB transfusions. Most literature regarding FWB transfusion is retrospective or historical. There is limited prospective evidence currently to change transfusion practice in tertiary care facilities, but FWB remains an option in the austere setting.
authors.affiliation: The 1 Canadian Field Hospital, Petawawa, Ont. and the Trauma Program, McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Que.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beckett
authors.affiliation: The Sunnybrook Heath Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ont.
authors.forename: Jeannie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Callum
authors.affiliation: The Sunnybrook Heath Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ont.
authors.forename: Luis Teodoro
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: da Luz
authors.affiliation: The 1 Canadian Field Hospital, Petawawa, Ont.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.affiliation: The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Ottawa, Ont.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Funk
authors.affiliation: The Trauma & Combat Medicine Branch, Surgeon General's HQ, Israel Defense Forces, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Elon
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Glassberg
authors.affiliation: The 1 Canadian Field Hospital, Petawawa, Ont., the Sunnybrook Heath Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ont.
authors.forename: Homer
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tien
mesh_terms: D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000346:Afghanistan; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D002170:Canada; D004777:Environment; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008889:Military Personnel; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications*