[Hypotensive resuscitation of the polytrauma patient with hemorrhagic shock]

Hemorrhagic shock is a significant cause of death in hospital practice, yet the management of this event in the period prior to definitive surgical hemostasis has changed little in 40 years. Currently, the standard treatment of resuscitation by means of fluid therapy to re-establish normal pressure and volume is based on animal models from the 1950s and 1960s; these studies will be reviewed in this article. However, new experimental models of hemorrhagic shock that have emerged in the last 3 decades are based on uncontrolled bleeding and are more similar to real-life situations. Recent studies using these models have demonstrated increased survival when polytrauma patients with hemorrhagic shock are deliberately allowed to remain in a moderate level of hypotension, a strategy referred to as hypotensive resuscitation. Finally, we review clinical trials of hypotensive resuscitation in hemorrhagic shock as well as studies indirectly related to this management approach. We conclude that hypotensive resuscitation is a promising treatment for use in cases of hemorrhagic shock that occur either in or out of hospital; however, we believe that more trials should be done before it can be considered a standard treatment.