Abstract

The leading cause of preventable death in trauma is uncontrolled bleeding. Some of these deaths may be secondary to the Acute Coagulopathy of Trauma, which is present in 30% of patients on admission to hospital. In recent years, Damage Control Resuscitation has been developed, which aims to give a hemostatic resuscitation and avoid deaths caused by bleeding. This strategy considers control of bleeding with damage control surgery or interventional procedures, early transfusion of all blood products, permissive hypotension and limited use of crystalloids. Several studies have reported that early transfusion of all blood products, with a ratio close to 1:1, maybe associated with lower mortality and less requirements of total transfusions in trauma patients at risk of massive bleeding and massive transfusion. These findings must be corroborated in randomized controlled trials, along with determining the optimum ratio between blood products. In stable patients, a restrictive transfusion strategy is safe and appropriate.