Pre-Hospital Use of Plasma for Traumatic Hemorrhage

Overview

Type A Thawed Plasma (TP) will be compared in polytrauma patients who receive only Normal Saline (NS) (standard of care) before arrival at the hospital. The purpose of this study is to determine if prehospital administration of thawed plasma can reduce mortality of patients who have lost a large amount of blood due to their injuries, compared to those receiving standard of care.

INVESTIGATIONAL PLAN This will be an open-label, non-blinded, randomized clinical trial to investigate mortality (30 days) and morbidity of Type A thawed Plasma (TP) versus NS infusion at earliest contact, administered by Emergency Medical Service (EMS) supervisors to subjects who have sustained severe Polytrauma / Major hemorrhage (PTr / MH). The total study is expected to last 2 years with 210 patients enrolled. The two EMS agencies involved in the study will each have one EMS supervisor quick-response vehicle (QRV) equipped with an approved, validated refrigeration unit for TP transport. EMS personnel trained in plasma administration and recognition of reactions may administer up to 2 units of TP to subjects approved for study enrollment. Blood samples for coagulation and lipid testing will be drawn prior to TP administration by EMS personnel,and repeated by hospital personnel at 30 minutes, 8 hours, and 24 hours post-injury. This study is approved for "Exception from Informed Consent" (EFIC). Once the patient has reached VCUMC and has been entered into the VCUMC health care system, the treating team will advise the Study Coordinator (SC) whether or not a subject is able to consent. As the plasma administration will occur in the field prior to arrival to VCUMC, the SC will make every effort possible to obtain consent from the subject or legally authorized representative (LAR) for continued study participation before the next intervention (8 hour blood specimen collection). The attempts to contact the LAR will be documented in detail. If a subject lacks the ability to provide his/her own consent by the end of day 30, the consent signed by the LAR will be the consent document in force at the subject's completion of the study and no further consent will be sought.

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (1)

Outcomes