Celox Rapid, The Hemostat That Works Even When Blood Doesn’t
Despite significant developments in scientific understanding and technology, hemorrhage remains the leading cause of preventable trauma related deaths in civilian life and on the battlefield.1-3 The challenges medics face when treating a patient is being unaware of the patients internal conditions through, for example, the use of blood thinners. Another challenge is the patient’s external condition due to environmental factors, such as hypothermia. Both conditions can significantly impact the treatment provided, so emergency responders must have the right hemostatic device to increase the chances of the patient’s survival.
When assessing hemostatic devices, the most prominent product types fall into two categories: those that primarily affect and are dependent on the body’s natural clotting mechanism and those that work independently. Celox Rapid is a chitosan derivative and naturally falls in the latter category.
Celox Rapid works in three distinct ways to stop bleeding even when blood’s ability to clot is compromised.4
Celox absorbs and dehydrates fluid in the blood independently.
Celox Rapid contains highly compressed granules over the entire surface of the gauze. The granules absorb the fluid in the blood, swell and stick together to create a robust mechanical gel-like clot that plugs the bleeding source and seal the wound. It happens independently of the blood clotting mechanism. Lab testing demonstrated how the proprietary chitosan-based granules coated on Celox Rapid gauze were able to absorb fluids from the body within 60 seconds.4 The testing was conducted on whole blood, anticoagulant-impregnated blood, and diluted anticoagulant-impregnated blood at a range of temperatures (4.3° C–55° C, including 37° C normal condition and 35° C hypothermic condition). The gel formed in all of these scenarios had very similar properties in terms of viscosity, density, and robustness, indicating that the product’s performance was similar regardless of the condition and temperature of the blood.4
Celox Rapid stops bleeding with 60 seconds compression.5
The second key strength is the bioadhesive nature of the product, which is achieved in two ways. First is the addition of a pharmaceutical-grade bioadhesive within the formulation, which swells in water, creating a large adhesive surface for
maximum contact, and maintaining a strong force between the tissue surface and the product. This enables Celox Rapid to require only 60 seconds of compression versus other competitor brands that require 3 minutes compression.5
Second is the hydrogen-bonding network found within the chitosan formulation which causes adhesion by electrostatic interaction with the amino acids inside the tissue. Lab testing demonstrated Celox Rapid’s higher tissue adhesion irrespective of the blood condition (e.g. healthy and fully able to clot, as well as compromised, thin blood not able to naturally clot as well as or as fast as healthy blood) compared with other competitor brands.4
Celox Rapid reduces the risk of rebleed.
Further adhesion can be observed between Celox Rapid gauze layers, which helps stabilize the multiple layers of the gauze during packing combined with tissue adhesion and helps hold and maintain the blood clot reducing the risk of rebleeding during the evacuation.4
Whether a military medic, a paramedic, or other emergency responder, it is important to have access to a medical device that will work whatever the situation. Complications, prolonged treatment time, and rebleeds are all potential challenges a first responder may come to face when the unthinkable happens. Celox Rapid provides that reassurance and confidence needed to stop the bleed even in situations when the patient’s blood clotting ability is impaired and transfer the patient safely to the hospital for the next stage of care.
If you would like further information about Celox Rapid or any of our other products please get in touch to speak to an expert.
