For you Medics - new bandage with Chitosan

[Penny]

Found this news article very interesting:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/02/bleeding/

It appears that the Americans are using chitosan in their field dressings. Chitosan is derived from shrimp shells and helps with blood clotting.  This leads me to wonder, I have a friend who is deathly alergic to fish, especially shrimp, how would somone like him react to it?

Want to share your thoughts on this?

 

[Armymedic]

Good question.

Theoretically there is minimal possibility of an allergic reaction to the chitosan in the dressing as the dressing absorbs and reacts with the blood coming out of the body. The proteins that are required to intiate an allergic reaction are not entering the blood stream so there is little possibility of a reaction occurring.

New Chitosan based dressing and hemostatic agents are being developed rapidly. There has been one called Hemcon, out in general use by US military for several yrs now. There has been no cases I know about where someone has had an allergic reaction to the dressing.

Mods move this to the medical forums please.

 

[kj_gully]

from the "HEMCON" website...

"* HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc. has results from a shellfish allergy study conducted by its chitosan supplier which demonstrates that, out of 221 individuals with suspected hypersensitivity, including 8 individuals with known shellfish allergies, none demonstrated any dermal sensitivity when pricked with a chitosan test solution. However, since chitosan is extracted from the shells of shrimp and other shellfish, individuals with known shellfish allergies should exercise caution in the use of products containing chitosan. "

I guess in my terms, Chitosan dressings would be considered "Caution" not necessarily contra indicated. Strictly theoretical, since we do not have this technology available to us (SARTechs) yet. Do medics have it?

 

[figure_11]

I'm actually doing a paper for my fourth year study on novel hemostatic products with a specific focus on QuikClot.  A medic in my unit who recently returned from Afghanistan used it.  Instead of being a polysaccharide derivative like chitosan, QuikClot is developed from volcanic rock, so there's no chance of allergic reaction there.

 

[Armymedic]

You know, if I were to do a paper

for my fourth year study on novel hemostatic products with a specific focus on QuikClot. 

I would only mention QC and Hemcon as the intial agents who opened up the field 5+yrs ago to the newer novel product which are out there today. The CF is and always has been a step or 2 and occasionaly 5 or 6 steps behind the newest and most innovative products avail for medical treatment.

I hope your research will show where the development is going.