I Used Quikclot on My Dog!

[dbrowne1]

II was able to bandage him and carry him to a veternarian where he got a bunch of stitches and shots. I have since found that Z-Medica, the company that makes Quikclot now has a product called "Petclot". I don't know if it is somehow different from the human used product, but I'm going to get some because I love to hike with my dog and I am a believer in trying to be prepared for stuff that happens.

Glad everything worked out, and a good reminder to be prepared.

Out of curiousity, what (if anything) did the vet have to say about your use of Quickclot on your dog?

[geezerbutler]

I remember seeing those bad boys as road kill in AZ, though not as prevalent as dead possums in the south.


I Never saw any out in el monte (the brush) but they are a force to be reckoned with.

Like the others glad to hear you and the dog are ok.

BTW what trail or area were you hiking in SO AZ?

I heard they just popped a load of DOPE coming in through Ft. Huachuca.

It's getting crazy out there with the javelinas and coyotes!

[The Doc]

I commend you for your no quit attitude and condolences to your dog, but I have some advice for FAK's...Quick Clot is a great product if you have NO other choice, but we are (the Army) getting away from the quick clot acs sponges because they have some serious after effects. In Afghanistan or Iraq, when your evac time or time to definitive care can vary between 45 minutes and 15 days, depending on weather and conditions, the mentality is stop the bleeding and worry about the consequences of the materials used later. In the US where (in most cases) there is definitive medical care within 2 hours from MOST places, I would advise against quick clot. There are more effective and less harmful products out there. Chitosan bandages and Combat Gauze are better choices.
Not to nay say. If my dog was hurt and all I had was quick clot, bet your sweet ass I would have used it. If anyone has any questions on first aid, gimme a shout via PM and I'll be glad to answer any and all questions. I might even be able to help you in finding some hard to find products...

Doc.

[RWBlue]

Please define "some serious after effects."?

[The Doc]

well, the quick clot gets hot when exposed to moisture. That's how it works. It essentially cauterizes (chemically) the artery. So, now after you stuff that nice little bean bag of quick clot inside a guy who just got shot or stabbed, or what have you, the surgeon who has to make repairs to the area has to cut out that bean bag and debride all the flesh, arteries, veins, nerves, ect..... that you just basically melted when you put that inside the body. If you don't have the bean bag style quick clot (The ACS) you have a bag full of granules. Say you are outside and it's not perfectly calm and the wind picks up and blows that powder into your eyes, you can kiss your eyesite goodbye.
Besides you shouldn't use quick clot or any hemostatic agent on any wound besides an arterial bleed. Packing and pressure on the area will most certainly be a better idea in any other situation besides an arterial bleed.

[rsgard]

Only old quikclot got hot enough to burn. They changed the formula and it only gets warm. I was told only gets to 120F but no way to verify. 140 is when things start to get painful.

[MIKE G]

Just as an FYI, the QC ACS is no longer being produced, at least for civi sales and I literally just sold the last package I had in stock and removed it from our listings. The only thing currently available in the .mil line up of QC products to dealers is the Combat Gauze.

[The Doc]

Only old quikclot got hot enough to burn. They changed the formula and it only gets warm. I was told only gets to 120F but no way to verify. 140 is when things start to get painful.

I still think that 120 is hot... Think about how warm you are if you are running a fever of 101... Really a mute point. I just was pointing out that there are better available choices out there. If Quick Clot is what you got, than it's better than nothing... Combat gauze is really good. You can pack it in the wound more effectively than anything else. I'm not starting an arguement, just stating that there are alternatives. Like I said before, if I was in the situation that he was in, I would have used it too. Actually, I would have used my 1911! But that's a whole other topic!

[dog guy]

The links below will take you to a couple of studies on both effectiveness and temperature implications for a few of the hemostatic agents on the market. The first link deals with an effectiveness study where the nature of the wound was an arterial puncture, as compared to a previous study which used a complete arterial transection. It's a long report to wade through, but well worth the time. Pay special attention to the "extra" observation notes at the end. Unfortunately, Chitogauze wasn't part of this study. I don't think it was available at the time the study was done. The second link is to a study that specifically compared temperature change at the wound site with the original ACS vs the newer ACS+.
As a side note, Combat Gauze is a specific item made by Z-Medica and consists of one version of QuikClot (kaolin) bonded to gauze for wound packing. When I called them a few months ago, it was only FDA approved for military use and supposedly wasn't to be used by civilians. Z-Medica also makes the over the counter versions of QuikClot, using a different but related agent (zeolite). I have not found an understandable explanation of the difference between kaolin and zeolite. The same company makes a whole series of other kaolin products listed for law enforcement, 1st responders, etc. which includes the ACS+. Folks from the EMS system in my area tell me that the over the counter versions can be purchased and used by anybody, but that you may run into problems using the specialty products if you're not operating under some sort of agency medical control (but that's a subject for another thread.)

I am most certainly NOT an expert in the use of any of these products. I just happened to have done some background web searches yesterday as part of a project at work and tripped over these studies.

http://sammedical.com/pdfs/Compariso..._dressings.pdf

http://www.springerlink.com/content/c1783877k3043107/