Early use of recombinant factor VIIa improves mean arterial pressure and may potentially decrease mortality in experimental hemorrhagic shock: A pilot study.

This is an interesting work showing the efficacy of rFVIIa in controlling post traumatic hemorrhage in an animal model, especially after the publication of several case reports of the effective treatment of excessive bleeding following surgery or trauma in non-hemophiliac patients with rFVIIa. After avulsion of left median lobe of the liver, swines were randomized between receiving rFVIIa or placebo. None of the six animals that received rFVIIa died, whereas four of the seven (43%) in the placebo group died, in addition to having less blood loss in the rFVIIa group. Mean arterial pressure and prothrombin time were significantly shortened in the treated group. The authors admit to some limitations of the study, such as the small sample size and short observation, but the findings encourage performing larger studies.

– M. Aldouri.