Auckland HEMS is currently exploring the use of blood products in our prehospital environment.

Two interesting papers regarding prehospital blood product use were recently published by the Queensland Ambulance Service. The Queensland Ambulance Service maintains a 24/7 doctor/paramedic trauma response team that is dispatched to significant trauma cases in the greater Brisbane area.

Despite the fact that the prehospital service in these studies is road-based, the patient cohort (predominantly blunt trauma), prehospital staffing (often initially ambulance crew followed by doctor/paramedic team), and prehospital times are highly applicable to our service.

The feasibility of civilian prehospital trauma teams carrying and administering packed red blood cells

This paper examined the feasibility, limitations, and costs involved in providing prehospital trauma teams with blood products (2 units of O-negative red cells)

• Of 500 units of RBCs provided to the service over 18 months, 26% were transfused
• 97.8% of non-transfused units were returned to the…