Prehospital whole blood use in civilian trauma care: A review of current evidence and practices

The use of whole blood (WB) as an adjunct to component therapy has gained popularity for the resuscitation of civilian trauma patients in the last decade. Additionally, it has been shown that earlier transfusion of WB is associated with improved early and late mortality. Despite the proven association of improved outcomes with the emergency transfusion of WB, the role of prehospital whole blood in the resuscitation of hemorrhaging trauma patients remains uncertain because of conflicting results in previous studies. This article will review the existing literature on the use of WB in prehospital settings and the rationale behind its potential advantages among hemorrhaging trauma patients.