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US statewide protocols for prehospital blood vary

Statewide Emergency Medical Services Protocols for Field-Initiated Blood Resuscitation
Prehospital Emergency Care · Added 26 April 2026

Study type

Cross-sectional

Design

Cross-sectional review of publicly available statewide EMS protocols

Participants

32 statewide protocols (31 states plus DC)

Main finding

13 of 32 (42%) protocols allowed field-initiated blood transfusion; all allowed trauma use, 69% allowed medical use, 69% allowed paediatric transfusion, 23% specified low titer O whole blood, and only 31% addressed biologically female patients

Caveat

US protocols only; descriptive, not linked to patient outcomes, and excludes critical care/interfacility protocols

Bottom line

Context only

Learning goal

Compare protocol variations in prehospital blood transfusion to refine my judgement on patient selection.

More

• Topic: Trauma
• Daily scan: 26 April 2026

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