Bioabsorbable Fibrillar Gauze Dressing Based on N-Carboxyethyl Chitosan Gelling Fibers for Fatal Hemorrhage Control

Death from lethal hemorrhage remains a major problem in various emergency scenarios. There is a continuous interest in the development of absorbable hemostatic dressings that can control hemorrhage rapidly and can be left in the wound site without removal. In this study, we report a hemostatic gauze dressing based on N-carboxyethyl chitosan (CECS) gelling fibers. The CECS fibrillar gauze combines ultra-hydrophilic, cationic chemical property of the fiber components with the fluffy nonwoven material form, exhibiting good conformability for wound filling, high fluid uptaking capacity, and enhanced blood-concentrating effect. In a swine femoral artery injury model, the CECS fibrillar gauze achieves shorter time to hemostasis and less blood loss compared with commercially available hemostatic dressings. This chitosan gelling fiber gauze demonstrates comparable bioabsorbability to clinically used absorbable hemostat and thus may be applied to treat fatal hemorrhage both in emergency medical services and in internal surgical procedures.