Resuscitation

Blast injuries can produce complex patterns of injury and can easily result in hemorrhagic shock. Adequate resuscitation of blast-injured patients is critical, as both under- and over-resuscitation can result in a number of fatal complications. Consideration must be given to the choice of resuscitative fluid, the volume of resuscitation, the timing of resuscitation relative to definitive surgical management, and the determination of endpoints at which resuscitation can be stopped. This chapter explores resuscitation of blast-injured patients, beginning in the prehospital phase with initial choice of fluid and continuing through definitive resuscitation at a higher echelon of care. Particular consideration is given to the effect of resuscitation on the unique physiologic derangements seen following blast injury. Drawing upon the enormous amount of literature on resuscitation from the recent coalition experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, we advocate for the use of early hemostatic resuscitation with a high ratio of plasma, platelets, and packed red blood cells, with a transition to resuscitation guided by viscoelastic testing or coagulation status immediately following definitive control of hemorrhage.