Damage Control Resuscitation of the exsanguinating trauma patient: pathophysiology and basic principles

Abstract

Damage Control Resuscitation (DCR) is a systematic approach to major exsanguinating trauma incorporating strategies of permissive hypotension, haemostatic resuscitation and damage control surgery. In this article we review current literature regarding the pathophysiology of massive haemorrhage: the “lethal triad” of coagulopathy, acidosis and hypothermia, and integrates this with an introduction to the components of DCR.