Combat fluid resuscitation: introduction and overview of conferences

Fluid resuscitation of injured combatants in a tactical setting has special challenges which standard civilian protocols do not address. Over a period of a year, four conferences on combat fluid resuscitation were held. The purpose of these conferences was to develop a consensus regarding contemporary practice and to identify and energize a research agenda. The conferees made specific recommendations for institution of, and endpoints for, resuscitation in the combat setting. They recommended that combat fluid resuscitation in these settings should be initiated with low volume colloid (for U.S. Forces) and hypertonic saline dextran (for those not constrained by U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations). A specific research agenda was defined. Since that time, these recommendations have been implemented in many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces and a variety of other activities have served to provide expert support and research focus for the special needs of injured combatants.