TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona has received approval for $30.6 million in research funding to study whether giving blood to trauma patients before they reach a hospital can improve survival.
The university said in a press release that the funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute will support a large public health initiative comparing prehospital blood transfusions with standard crystalloid fluids, such as saline, for patients experiencing traumatic hemorrhagic shock. Researchers will evaluate whether administering blood at the scene or during ground ambulance transport can reduce deaths from severe blood loss.
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“The most frequent cause of death after trauma is bleeding,” Dr. Joshua Gaither, co-principal investigator and emergency medicine professor, said. “So, it makes intuitive sense that if you give the patient blood, they might have a better chance of survival — in multiple settings where injury occurs a long way from the hospital, this intervention has been shown to be effective.”
Prehospital blood transfusions are used by some ground and air EMS systems and in military care, but their benefit in urban areas with shorter transport times is less clear. Professor and co-principal investigator Chengcheng Hu will lead the study’s data analysis to determine whether the practice improves survival.
The University of Arizona will partner with the Arizona Department of Health Services to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of prehospital blood transfusions statewide and determine where blood resources can be used most effectively.
The six-year project is expected to include nearly 2,000 patients treated by more than a dozen participating EMS agencies.
