Celox Rapid, A Haemostat That Works Even In The Absence of Blood

Despite significant advances in scientific understanding and technology, haemorrhage remains the leading cause of preventable trauma-related deaths in civilian life and on the battlefield. The challenge paramedics face when treating a patient is being unaware of the patient's internal conditions, for example due to the use of blood thinners. Another challenge is the external condition of the patient due to environmental factors such as hypothermia. Both conditions can significantly affect the treatment provided, so emergency responders must have the right haemostatic device to increase the patient's chances of survival.

When evaluating haemostatic devices, the most prominent types of products are divided into two categories: those that primarily affect the body's natural clotting mechanism and depend on it, and those that work independently. Celox Rapid is a chitosan derivative and naturally falls into the second category.

Celox Rapid, works in three different ways to stop bleeding even when the blood's ability to clot is compromised.

Celox independently absorbs and dries the fluid in the blood.

Celox Rapid contains highly compressed granules on the entire surface of the gauze. The granules absorb the fluid from the blood, swell and stick together to form a solid mechanical gel-like clot that seals the bleeding source and closes the wound. This process occurs independently of the blood clotting mechanism. Laboratory tests have demonstrated how proprietary chitosan-based granules coated on Celox Rapid gauze can absorb body fluids within 60 seconds. Tests were performed on whole blood, anticoagulant-impregnated blood and diluted anticoagulant-impregnated blood at various temperatures (4.3° C-55° C, including 37° C normal condition and 35° C hypothermic condition). The gel formed in all these scenarios had very similar properties in terms of viscosity, density and strength, indicating that the performance of the product was similar regardless of the condition and temperature of the blood.

Celox Rapid stops bleeding with 60 seconds of compression.

The second important strength is the bioadhesive nature of the product, which is achieved in two ways. The first is the addition of a pharmaceutical grade bio-adhesive to the formulation that swells in water, creating a large adhesive surface for maximum contact and providing a strong force between the tissue surface and the product. This allows Celox Rapid to require only 60 seconds of compression compared to other competing brands that require 3 minutes of compression.

The second is the hydrogen bonding network contained within the chitosan formulation, which causes adhesion through electrostatic interaction with amino acids within the tissue. Laboratory tests have shown that Celox Rapid provides higher tissue adhesion compared to other competing brands, regardless of blood condition (e.g. healthy, fully clotting blood versus risky, thin blood that naturally does not clot as well or as quickly as healthy blood).

Celox Rapid reduces the risk of re-bleeding.
Greater adhesion can be observed between the layers of Celox Rapid gauze, which together with tissue adhesion helps to stabilise the multiple layers of gauze during packing and helps to retain and protect the blood clot, reducing the risk of rebleeding during evacuation.

Whether military corpsmen, paramedics or other emergency responders, it is important to have access to a medical device that will work no matter what the situation. Complications, prolonged treatment time and re-bleeding are potential challenges for first responders when the unthinkable happens. Celox Rapid provides the reassurance and confidence needed to stop bleeding and safely transport the patient to hospital for the next stage of care, even in situations where the patient's blood clotting ability is impaired.

Edited from the article on the Celox website.