View Full Version : experience with "Combat Gauze"?
LeakyBandage
08-20-2008, 15:55
Does anyone have experience with ZMedica/QuikClot's Combat Gauze (http://www.combatmedicalsystems.com/DOWNLOAD.pdf)? It is supposed to be a roll of gauze with a new, non-heating hemostatic agent embedded in it.
I have read that the current revision of TC3 lists it as a first-line hemostatic to be used before WoundStat, but I am not in that loop and cannot speak authoritatively. It is available on the civilian market (i.e. here (http://www.chinookmed.com/index.cfm/fa/product.display/product_id/1428/category_id/1/QuikClot%20Combat%20Gauze.cfm) & here (http://www.narescue.com/Combat-Gauze-P254C3.aspx)) but it would be great to get some feedback from guys out on the sharp end.
Just got some. Will let you know. Seems like a good idea, but I wonder what the big difference is between it and kerlex.
cornelyj
08-22-2008, 12:43
Seems like it would work well?
too bad I don't deal with gun shot wounds too much. :cool:
::living vicariously through awesome combat medics::
Just got some. Will let you know. Seems like a good idea, but I wonder what the big difference is between it and kerlex.
Kerlex works fine if used correctly (you know that of course) but as far as Combat Gauze goes, it's something I like to save for neck, axillary, or inguinal injuries. It's a great product when used in conjunction with Kerlex and pressure dressings. I'm not positive on the difference between the two, just that they both work when you need them to, which is good enough for me. I'll bug my PA about it tomorrow.
Surgicalcric
01-31-2010, 11:48
...I'm not positive on the difference between the two...
You dont know the difference between plain kerlix and Combat Gauze?
Sounds like you need to do a lil research before you go pestering your PA about things you SHOULD have the answers for.
Crip
You dont know the difference between plain kerlix and Combat Gauze?
Sounds like you need to do a lil research before you go pestering your PA about things you SHOULD have the answers for.
Crip
You're right, he shouldn't have to do my job.
• QuikClot® Combat Gauze™ causes rapid localized coagulation
and the formation of a stable blood clot in a variety of wounds.
It does not absorb into the body, and is safe to leave in the
wound until further medical care is available.
• QuikClot® Combat Gauze™ does not produce any heat.
You dont know the difference between plain kerlix and Combat Gauze?
Sounds like you need to do a lil research before you go pestering your PA about things you SHOULD have the answers for.
Crip
AMEN!!!
You should know. I'm a frinkin knuckle dragging barrel chest freedom fighter and I know the diff.
I'm not a medic nor have I ever been one.
But I've trained in medical field, but I'd slept in a Holiday Inn express and I know the difference between the two.
Roger, guys. SurgicalCric jumped in my shit and I fixed myself. It won't happen again. :o
it works really well, but try to get rid/wipe as much blood as possible first. you need to isolate the bleed, and also when it gets really bloody it likes to stick to your gloves.
It works well, roller gauze used properly is 95% as effective. Not a reason not to use it, just saying it isn't the end all for hemorragic control.
It works well, roller gauze used properly is 95% as effective. Not a reason not to use it, just saying it isn't the end all for hemorragic control.
+1
I carry a lot more kerlex than I do combat gauze. Its frequently more trouble than its worth.
farcefiasco
03-09-2010, 20:02
*
Used Combat Gauze on a femoral bleeder at Med Sustain/Refresher 2 weeks ago. It worked well...after 2 packs of Combat gauze, AND a topper of Kerlix wrapped tightly with a 6" ACE wrap. Not a fan, so it won't be going in my med bag. Keep your Combat Gauze, give me the Kerlix. Just my 2 cents.
swatsurgeon
03-10-2010, 15:27
Used Combat Gauze on a femoral bleeder at Med Sustain/Refresher 2 weeks ago. It worked well...after 2 packs of Combat gauze, AND a topper of Kerlix wrapped tightly with a 6" ACE wrap. Not a fan, so it won't be going in my med bag. Keep your Combat Gauze, give me the Kerlix. Just my 2 cents.
Mack,
The only difference between the two is the addition of a 'potential' hemostatic agent...it is not a miracle worker, just an adjunct. Why not carry something that does offer 1% more potential to stop bleeding....just trying to figure out the rationale people use for what they carry.....not a criticism of you at all.
ss
swatsurgeon
03-10-2010, 15:32
Does anyone have experience with ZMedica/QuikClot's Combat Gauze (http://www.combatmedicalsystems.com/DOWNLOAD.pdf)? It is supposed to be a roll of gauze with a new, non-heating hemostatic agent embedded in it.
I have read that the current revision of TC3 lists it as a first-line hemostatic to be used before WoundStat, but I am not in that loop and cannot speak authoritatively. It is available on the civilian market (i.e. here (http://www.chinookmed.com/index.cfm/fa/product.display/product_id/1428/category_id/1/QuikClot%20Combat%20Gauze.cfm) & here (http://www.narescue.com/Combat-Gauze-P254C3.aspx)) but it would be great to get some feedback from guys out on the sharp end.
Leakybandage,
I have used it in and out of the body, yes it does work....would a non-impregnated gauze have done the same thing????Inside the body I know it wouldn't, I tried. Outside you have a lot more options to control bleeding, i.e., types of wound, venous vs. arterial hemorrhage, etc. I like the stuff. I have used the combat gauze 3x in the body and the quik clot "tea bags" 7x in the body with only one 'failure' that was predictable when we started the case....patient was coagulopathic and I knew it was a long shot, you need an intact coagulation cascade for ANY of these products to work.
ss
Mack,
The only difference between the two is the addition of a 'potential' hemostatic agent...it is not a miracle worker, just an adjunct. Why not carry something that does offer 1% more potential to stop bleeding....just trying to figure out the rationale people use for what they carry.....not a criticism of you at all.
ss
Hey SwatSurgeon. Good question. A couple reasons I'd rather use kerlix...1-Kerlix is much easier to open with one hand (one hand holding pressure, other hand opening and applying gauze). 2-I didn't notice an improvement in acheiving hemostasis with the Combat Gauze vs Kerlix. Obviously, you have more experience with it than I do, so maybe I'll give it a second chance, but on first glance, I could take it or leave it. Preferably the latter.
BTW, the Quikclot teabags are pretty cool. Just don't open the stuff on a windy day or with rotory wing nearby, else it wreaks havoc on your eyes.;)
swatsurgeon
03-10-2010, 17:22
Hey SwatSurgeon. Good question. A couple reasons I'd rather use kerlix...1-Kerlix is much easier to open with one hand (one hand holding pressure, other hand opening and applying gauze). 2-I didn't notice an improvement in acheiving hemostasis with the Combat Gauze vs Kerlix. Obviously, you have more experience with it than I do, so maybe I'll give it a second chance, but on first glance, I could take it or leave it. Preferably the latter.
BTW, the Quikclot teabags are pretty cool. Just don't open the stuff on a windy day or with rotory wing nearby, else it wreaks havoc on your eyes.;)
You are so right...even the tea bags have the 'dust' from the contents. The essential part of the equation is as you indicated, proper packing...it's a tamponade effect first and foremost. Most of the time the packing isn't adequate in most operators hands, hence the addition of a hemostatic agent to offer alittle extra....
ss
AndyBear
03-22-2010, 08:36
We had combat gauze introduced to us on this most recent deployment. I would find myself reaching for kerlex out of familiarity before i did the thick, not easily op-enable, combat gauze package.
Another medic I know did use it one time and said he couldn't tell a big difference with it, but an over zealous brother had already placed a tourniquet on his leg and continued to return fire. I guess you can't really expect a Bravo to tell the difference between a mangled flesh wound and arterial bleed while he has someone to shoot at. They just get too excited to play with their toys. :rolleyes:
Paramedic40
04-24-2010, 10:55
My CLS provider used it on a 5.56mm exit wound, R bicep/shoulder 'blown out' with brisk bleeding from fascia, muscle, and what appeared to be a blood vessel, plus a 'gouged' bone that appeared to be the result of a 5.56 travelling along the shaft and bouncing out. Pt also sustained 5.56mm entry wound directly over T5 [my shot, strange angles] that severed his spinal cord and probably took out one or both great vessels. 16-17 y/o M. It worked fairly well- in all honesty, it was not a critical intervention at all. My care was a chest seal over the back wound and attempted rapid evacuation, secured airway and ventilations with BVM and Combitube. Considered performing a needle-chest decompression, but I had positive breath sounds on both lungs with bilateral movement. I ceased resuscitative efforts approximately 20 mins post-shooting and presumed him dead. My CLS guy nearly puked from the whole thing.
Even with limited bloodflow, the clotting properties were readily apparent- the IPs had difficulty removing the gauze from the wound. I was fairly impressed with it, although I wish that it was slightly easier to open.
I can see difficulties with some of the other available hemostatic agents, like the 'bag of hemcon' Quickclot sells on the civilian side. The Combat Gauze was fairly easy to work with. For this wound, the old powder would have been difficult.
CA_TacMedic
04-26-2010, 02:07
I have now used Combat gauze twice. Two patients, same roll. The first was an absolute minor head wound, but it would not stop bleeding even after pressure for 3-5 min. Applied about 1 ft. of combat Gauze and in three minutes the wound was clear and dry and sutured easily.
The second was last night. I was awakened after midnight to check a kid that while chopping wood with an ax, had missed and struck his right great toe area.
Boot removed, heavy bleeding from wound, toe still intact and functioning, but heavy bleeding. I used standard dressings and kerlix without complete success. Second round, Combat Gauze, deep into the wound cavity for three minutes and the bleeding stopped. * sutures later and the drunk cowboy is off to impress his girlfriend some more.
So far I have not use it on heavy arterial hemorrhages and cannot speak to that. I can say that in my limited applications it has performed better than the standard bandage and dressings available.
So now another question, and maybe this should be a post of it's own...? Once a QuikClot Combat Gauze is opened...if only partially used, what happens the the efficacy of the product if it is immediately resealed and kept dry? I did in fact reuse the product. It worked great both times. Any input on that?
Thanks in advance for your time.