Armed Forces Search for Ways to Improve Survival in the Combat Zone
Military experts believe that blood loss may be one of the most preventable causes of battlefield fatalities. With thousands of lives at risk and millions of dollars at stake for product development, two branches of the military are collaborating to find new resuscitative products that can be easily transported and used on the frontline. A new report outlines how the military can best identify, nurture and support the next generation of resuscitation fluids and adjunct therapies.
Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) July 26, 2005 -- As reported last December in the New
England Journal of Medicine, the U.S. military’s on-the-ground surgical strategy
now aims at “damage control, not definitive repair, unless it can be done
quickly.” Today’s mobile medical teams, equipped with powerful and efficient
tools, provide care near the battlefront to treat extensive injuries resulting
from mortar attacks and suicide bombers. Despite new strategies and improved
care, hemorrhage (blood loss) – caused by bullets and exploding munitions
fragments – continues to kill in combat.
Military experts believe that
blood loss may be one of the most preventable causes of battlefield fatalities.
With thousands of lives at risk and millions of dollars at stake for product
development, two branches of the military are collaborating to find new
resuscitative products that can be easily transported and used on the frontline.
These products must be effective in reducing blood-loss-related fatalities. A
new report outlines how the military can best identify, nurture and support the
next generation of resuscitation fluids and adjunct therapies.
The
Study
The new report, entitled Recommendations for Reviewing Research on
Advanced First-Responder Resuscitation Fluids and Adjunct Therapies, was
prepared at the request of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
and the Office of Naval Research by the Life Sciences Research Office, Inc.
(LSRO) (www.LSRO.org). LSRO is a
non-profit research and analysis firm that distinguishes itself by its
third-party independence and the use of seasoned staff researchers and outside
experts to investigate important topic areas.
In the first phase of the
study, LSRO’s expert panel reviewed and ranked 59 research pre-proposals for
resuscitation fluids and adjunct therapies in an effort to determine which held
the most promise for improving survival from combat blood-loss and achieving
sound scientific advances. This phase was designed to assist the military in
determining which emerging products were worthy of further review and potential
future funding.
Of the 59 pre-proposals, 49 were in the pre-clinical
stage of development, in which a product’s effects and toxicity are evaluated
using animal models and cell cultures. Ten of the pre-proposals were in the
clinical stage of development, which is a follow-on phase that establishes the
product’s safety and effectiveness in humans. The types of novel resuscitation
fluids and adjunct therapies considered by the panelists included blood volume
expanders and drugs that enhanced oxygen delivery, protected cells, improved
cardiovascular responses, minimized inflammation and/or modulated the immune
system.
In the second phase of the study, the expert panel examined the
forms and processes by which the military obtains and reviews information
related to scientific research. This phase was designed to identify
opportunities for improvements in gathering better, more meaningful data with
which to evaluate future proposals.
Findings
The expert panel
identified several products in various stages of development that were durable
enough for combat use and had preliminary data suggesting they possess the
potential to improve the treatment of life-threatening
hemorrhage.
Recommendations
The panel made the following
recommendations:
- Product investigations should be divided into two
categories: one for blood volume expanders and another for pharmacologic agents
that can be used with or without resuscitation fluids;
- Given that
civilian treatment of individuals who have been involved in car accidents is the
best surrogate model for treating combat-inflicted hemorrhage, data from
experimental resuscitation products used by emergency medical technicians should
be included as a part of all study data;
- Pre-clinical studies should be
funded for a maximum of two years and clinical studies should be funded for a
maximum of three years, with future funding potential based on achieving key
milestones and objectives; and
- Standardized formats and requirements
should be adopted for research proposals. The expert panel had created proposal
instructions and forms as part of its work product.
Conclusions
The
mission of the military medical services is to ensure that deployed medical
units are trained, equipped, and capable of supporting the medical requirements
of deployed forces under any contingency. The findings and recommendations of
this study enable the medical arms of the military to further advance their
capabilities in treating life-threatening hemorrhage and effectively meet their
mission.
The military will invite investigators of pre-proposals having
the greatest military relevance and scientific merit to submit full proposals
for possible funding. The next challenge for the military is to select those
candidates that hold the most promise for a durable, safe, and effective product
that can be used by medics and combat lifesavers on the frontline and foster
product development.
For nearly half a century, the Life Sciences
Research Office (LSRO) has provided expert objective science-based analysis and
advice to governmental agencies and leading corporations in the food, health and
bioscience sectors. LSRO is a non-profit organization that was originally
established by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology.
Editor’s Note: A copy of the full report is available to the
press. An executive summary is available to the public online at www.LSRO.org. To schedule an
interview with an LSRO researcher, please contact Donna Krupa at 703.527.7357
(office), 703.967.2751 (cell).
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb265478.htm