26 Adverse reactions include mild to severe pain and discomfort caused by the heat generated by QuikClot’s exothermic
reaction; three cases of burns were reported, with one case requiring skin grafting. One case of ureteral obstruction from scar formation also was reported.26 A new formulation of QuikClot, called QuikClot ACS, does not become as hot and is more easily removed because the zeolite material is contained in a bag that can be HSP signaling pathway easily applied and rapidly removed.27 This new formulation was studied in 2007 by Arnaud et al27—data in a swine model showed that overall survival compared with standard dressing was the same for both QuikClot and QuikClot ACS. Combat gauze is a simple, thin gauze dressing impregnated with
kaolin, a clay that intensely activates the clotting cascade. This dressing is easily portable and can be packed into wounds quite effectively to achieve a good pressure effect and stop uncontrolled bleeding. Currently, combat gauze is included in the first aid packets issued to all military personnel. When studied in an animal model, combat gauze secured hemostasis for 134.6 ± 22 minutes and resulted in an average survival time of 167.3 ± 5.9 minutes, outperforming all other hemostatic agents used in the study.28 WoundStat® includes a granular clay made out of smectite; the substance can be poured into wounds and is highly procoagulant. WoundStat swells and thus can conform to any wound; however, removing WoundStat can be difficult find more and requires debridement. In a study conducted at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research in San Antonio, Texas, researchers examined the efficacy and safety of various granular hemostatic agents in anesthetized pigs and found that WoundStat was the most efficacious at achieving hemostasis and
was associated with the least amount of blood loss.29 In this arterial punch wound model, bleeding was allowed for 45 seconds before dressings were applied to the wounds and compressed with a large gauze for two minutes. Although only 10% of the wounded animals treated with HemCon dressings achieved hemostasis after 180 minutes, ADP ribosylation factor 100% of animals treated with WoundStat achieved stable hemostasis in the same time frame (P < .05). 29 In addition, blood loss was significantly reduced in animals treated with WoundStat compared with HemCon (P < .05). 29 Although WoundStat was more efficient in achieving hemostasis, histological evidence indicates that animals treated with WoundStat had more tissue damage compared with animals treated with HemCon. 29 Later studies further revealed that WoundStat can embolize to the brain and lungs. Together, this suggests that although WoundStat is an effective hemostatic agent, future research needs to be done to investigate ways to eliminate its potentially severe adverse effects.