QuikClot is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

of hemostatic wound dressing, that contains an agent that promotes blood clotting. It is primarily used by militaries and law enforcement to treat

hemorrhaging Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

from trauma.

History

Using

zeolite Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a metal ion or H+. These pos ...

as a clotting agent was discovered by Frank Hursey (Z-Medica co-founder) in 1984. Following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

the US armed forces conducted a series of tests comparing different antihemorrhagic technologies, in which QuikClot got the best score. Following these tests, the US armed forces approved its use in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Zeolite

The original formulation of the first generation product contained the active ingredient zeolite, which promoted

blood clotting Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanis ...

. The zeolite reaction with

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

was

exothermic In thermodynamics, an exothermic process () is a thermodynamic process or reaction that releases energy from the system to its surroundings, usually in the form of heat, but also in a form of light (e.g. a spark, flame, or flash), electricity (e ...

, releasing heat during the clotting process, which could cause second degree burns. Because of this, the product was not available for retail and was only used in emergency scenarios, such as in combat. Newer zeolite formulas come pre-hydrated, which produce less heat, and can be used more safely to pack wounds and stop hemorrhage.

Kaolin

As of 2012 QuikClot devices are impregnated with

kaolin Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...

, an inorganic mineral that accelerates the body's natural clotting ability, and produces no exothermic reaction. The product consists of a non-woven gauze coated in kaolin which can be applied to the region of trauma to promote clotting without an exothermic reaction. Originally sold as QuikClot Combat Gauze, the product now has a variety of packaging options available for military, law enforcement, emergency medical responders public access and hospital use. Consumer versions of the product, which use kaolin formulation, are also available at a variety of retailers.

Mechanism

QuikClot was originally available as a granulate to be poured directly on a wound to stem bleeding. It absorbed the water in the blood, thus increasing its already present

clotting Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanism o ...

capabilities, while also activating

platelet Platelets, also called thrombocytes (from Greek θρόμβος, "clot" and κύτος, "cell"), are a component of blood whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping, thereby ini ...

s. QuikClot Combat Gauze utilizes the clotting properties of kaolin to help control and stop bleeding. Kaolin works by activating

factor XII Coagulation factor XII, also known as Hageman factor, is a plasma protein. It is the zymogen form of factor XIIa, an enzyme () of the serine protease (or serine endopeptidase) class. In humans, factor XII is encoded by the ''F12'' gene. Struc ...

, a protein factor which assists in the initiation of the coagulation cascade, a protein chain reaction which promotes blood clotting as a result of trauma. The active nature of kaolin in the promotion of this process causes it to happen much earlier on than normal, but also at a faster rate. Later it was formulated using

bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...

s, which promoted clotting directly through

activation Activation, in chemistry and biology, is the process whereby something is prepared or excited for a subsequent reaction. Chemistry In chemistry, "activation" refers to the reversible transition of a molecule into a nearly identical chemical or ...

of the

coagulation cascade Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanism o ...

. One formulation is a

-coated gauze which works directly to promote

by activating ''factor XII'' of the coagulation cascade. Currently, QuikClot products are produced using kaolin formulations. In 2008, QuikClot Combat Gauze with kaolin was chosen by the CoTCCC (Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care) as the only hemostatic dressing to be used by all branches of the US military for compressible hemorrhage not amenable to

tourniquet A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to stop the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation. A simple tourniquet can be made from a stick and ...

use or as an adjunct to tourniquet removal if evacuation time is anticipated to be longer than 2 hours.{{cite web, title=Tactical Combat Casualty Care Guidelines, date=2 June 2014, url=http://www.usaisr.amedd.army.mil/pdfs/TCCC_Guidelines_140602.pdf, access-date=March 25, 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623085609/http://www.usaisr.amedd.army.mil/pdfs/TCCC_Guidelines_140602.pdf, archive-date=June 23, 2015 Today, QuikClot Combat Gauze is still the hemostatic device of choice of all branches of the military by the CoTCCC. The

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

is funding research to explore other applications of QuikClot products in bleeding associated with traumatic injuries.

References

Antihemorrhagics Military equipment of the United States