QuikClot Combat Gauze Hemostatic Dressing

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QuikClot® by Teleflex · Hemostatic Dressing QuikClot® Combat Gauze® Hemostatic Dressing A sterile 3 in. × 4 yd strip of Z-folded gauze impregnated with kaolin — a mineral that swit ches on the body's own clotting response right where the gauze touches blood. Combat Gauze has been the U.S. military's issued hemostatic since 2008, and the TCCC Guidelines name it the hemostatic dressing of choice for bleeding a tourniquet cannot reach: the groin, the armpit, the neck and deep wounds of the limbs. CoTCCC hemostatic dressing of choiceKaolin — produces no heat3 in. × 4 yd Z-foldX-ray detectable5-year shelf life A tourniquet solves a limb. A groin, an armpit or a neck has to be packed — and Combat Gauze is the dressing the TCCC Guidelines name first for that job. The short answer What it is Kaolin-impregnated hemostatic packing gauze, 3 in. × 4 yd, one dressing per vacuum-sealed pouch. Use it for Life-threatening bleeding from a wound you can pack — the groin and armpit, the neck, and deep limb wounds a tourniquet cannot control. Hold pressure Firm, direct pressure for at least 3 minutes after packing, and longer if the bleeding has not stopped. Then wrap a pressure bandage over the top. Who carries it Combat medics and combat lifesavers, law enforcement, EMS and fire, and trained civilians. At a glance Active agent Kaolin Gauze 3 in. × 4 yd (7.5 cm × 3.7 m) Format Z-fold, vacuum-sealed Pressure hold At least 3 minutes X-ray detectable Yes — radiopaque strip Shelf life 5 years Weight 0.8 oz (23 g) NSN 6510-01-562-3325 Manufacturer item Teleflex #200 Made in USA — Wallingford, CT 12 things to know about Combat Gauze What it is, why the military picked it, and what separates it from every other gauze in a kit. 01 It works by switching on your own clotting Kaolin activates Factor XII, the first step of the contact pathway of coagulation, which accelerates the body's own clot formation wherever the gauze touches blood.3,12 It is the same mineral clinical laboratories have used since the 1950s to trigger clotting in the kaolin clotting time test.13 02 It produces no heat The original QuikClot was a loose zeolite granule that gave off heat as it absorbed water. Combat Gauze binds kaolin to the gauze instead: no exothermic reaction, nothing to pour, and nothing to blow away in rotor wash.3 03 It has been the U.S. military's hemostatic since 2008 Combat Gauze was fielded in 2008 to replace earlier hemostatic products,4 after U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research testing in a swine arterial-bleeding model.11 The TCCC Guidelines dated 25 January 2024 still name it the CoTCCC hemostatic dressing of choice.1 04 Its record in real patients is consistent Hemorrhage control in 88.3% of documented uses on U.S.-treated casualties in Afghanistan;4 89% effective across rural civilian trauma centers;5 95% success in a civilian ground and flight EMS service.6 These are retrospective case series — real patients, no comparison group — and three separate settings all landed between 88% and 95%. 05 It packs exactly like plain gauze No mixing, no measuring, no applicator. The Z-fold feeds out one fold at a time as you work it into the wound, so the technique you train on plain gauze is the technique you use here.3 06 Four yards is a lot of gauze — on purpose Twelve feet fills a deep groin or armpit cavity and still leaves a tail to lay over the top of the packed wound under your pressure bandage. On a shallow wound, pack what fits tightly and use the rest as the outer layer. 07 The X-ray strip is there for the surgeon A radiopaque strip runs through the gauze and shows on X-ray, so the receiving team can confirm every inch came out of the wound.3 Tell them a hemostatic dressing is packed in the wound and hand them the empty pouch. 08 Eight tear points, vacuum-sealed The pouch tears open from any edge with gloved, slick hands, and the vacuum seal keeps the dressing a compact brick that rides in an individual first aid kit or a plate-carrier pouch.3 09 Five-year shelf life, no cold chain Store it sealed at ordinary room conditions and check the expiration date printed on the pouch. A torn or punctured pouch means the dressing is no longer sterile — replace it.3 10 Safe to carry for people with shellfish allergy Kaolin is an inorganic mineral. Combat Gauze contains no shellfish-derived chitosan and no animal or human proteins.3 11 Laboratory data on blood thinners In blood drawn from eight people taking rivaroxaban, both kaolin- and chitosan-based hemostatics shifted clotting measurements toward improvement.10 That is a test-tube result, not a field outcome: pack and hold exactly the same way, and keep a closer eye on the wound for re-bleeding. 12 Owned by Teleflex since 2020 Z-Medica, the Wallingford, Connecticut company that created QuikClot, became part of Teleflex on 28 December 2020.14 The dressing, its item number and its NSN carried over unchanged.3 How to pack Combat Gauze The technique taught in TCCC, TECC and public bleeding-control courses, in order. 1 Find the source. Expose the wound and find where the blood is actually coming from. Keep direct pressure on it with your hand while you open the pouch at any tear point. 2 Start with a tight wad. Make the first few folds into a firm ball — the "power ball" — and press it directly onto the bleeding vessel. 3 Feed it in. Work the gauze in one or two folds at a time, keeping pressure on what is already packed. 4 Fill every corner. Pack tightly, leave no empty space, and keep going until the gauze sits slightly above the skin. 5 Hold firm pressure. Press straight down on the packed wound for at least 3 minutes — longer if it is still bleeding.1 Do not lift your hands to look. 6 Lock it in. Wrap a pressure bandage over the packed wound so your hands are free for the next problem. 7 If it keeps bleeding, repack. Remove the packing and pack again with a fresh dressing, the same type or another hemostatic.1 Piling more gauze on top of a failed pack does not fix it. 8 Hand it off. Tell the receiving team a hemostatic dressing is in the wound, give them the pouch, and keep reassessing. Train before you need it. Wound packing is a hands-on skill. Practice on a wound-packing trainer with inert training gauze and keep your live dressing sealed for the casualty. Where it fits Use it for Junctional wounds — groin and armpit — where a limb tourniquet cannot be applied Neck wounds, packed with care so the airway is not compressed; the lower neck above the collarbone can be packed Deep limb wounds where a tourniquet is not possible, or as an adjunct when a trained provider converts a tourniquet1 Any deep, packable wound with life-threatening bleeding Not for The chest or abdomen — never pack into the chest or abdominal cavity Life-threatening limb bleeding a tourniquet can control — tourniquet first1 Minor cuts and scrapes — an everyday first aid dressing does that job The eyes — keep the dressing away from the eyes3 Practice — train with inert trainers, not live dressings The evidence Every number above, where it comes from, and how strong it is. Study Evidence type What was studied What it found Schauer et al., J Spec Oper Med 2017 Human · combat registry 118 casualties treated with Combat Gauze out of 705 in the DoD Prehospital Trauma Registry, Afghanistan Hemorrhage control in 88.3% of uses where the outcome was documented Leonard et al., J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2016 Human · civilian series 95 rural civilian trauma patients treated with Combat Gauze and/or C-A-T tourniquets, 2009–2014 Combat Gauze 89% effective Zietlow et al., J Spec Oper Med 2015 Human · civilian EMS 62 hemostatic dressings in 52 patients, Gold Cross Ambulance and Mayo One flight service 95% success; half were applied to the head and neck Ran et al., Prehosp Disaster Med 2010 Human · combat series 14 uses by Israel Defense Forces advanced life support providers, Gaza, January 2009 Authors judged it effective and safe for prehospital use Johnson & Johnson, Am J Disaster Med 2019 Animal · randomized Combat Gauze vs Celox Rapid, 6 mm femoral artery injury, 21 swine, 3-minute hold plus simulated pressure dressing Hemostasis held at 1 hour in 100% with Combat Gauze vs 60% with Celox Rapid Kunio et al., Am J Surg 2013 Animal · randomized Plain gauze vs Combat Gauze vs Celox Rapid, femoral artery injury, 36 swine, no pressure held after packing Success not statistically different (10/12, 10/12, 12/12); less secondary blood loss with Celox Rapid Bar et al., Prehosp Disaster Med 2017 Laboratory Blood from 8 people taking rivaroxaban, tested by rotational thromboelastometry Kaolin- and chitosan-based agents both shifted clotting toward improvement Strongest to weakest: human trials and registries, then animal studies, then laboratory studies. Case series show real-world performance but have no comparison group; animal results depend heavily on the injury model, the hold time and the endpoint chosen. How it compares The four packing options a buyer most often weighs against each other. Combat Gauze Celox Rapid Celox Gauze Plain compressed gauze Active agent Kaolin (mineral) Chito-R™ chitosan Chitosan None How it stops bleeding Speeds the body's own clotting cascade Forms an adhesive gel that binds blood cells Forms an adhesive gel that binds blood cells Pressure alone Strip 3 in. × 4 yd (12 ft) Z-fold 3 in. × 5 ft Z-fold Z-fold 4.5 in. × 4.1 yd roll Labeled pressure hold At least 3 min 60 s, or until bleeding stops 3 min, or until bleeding stops Longer than a hemostatic — pressure is the only mechanism CoTCCC-recommended Yes — hemostatic dressing of choice Yes Yes No — not a hemostatic Shellfish-derived No Yes Yes No Combat Gauze XL is the double-layer member of the same kaolin family. Labeled hold times come from each manufacturer's instructions; the TCCC Guidelines set at least 3 minutes of direct pressure for any hemostatic dressing.1 Build the system What goes in the kit around it — the bandage that holds it in, the alternatives, and the trainer to practice on. Combat Gauze XL Double-layer kaolin gauze for large cavities CELOX™ Rapid Chitosan gauze labeled for a 60-second hold CELOX™ Z-Fold Gauze Celox's standard chitosan Z-fold ChitoGauze® XR PRO Chitosan-coated packing gauze OLAES® Bandage Pressure bandage to lock the packing in Emergency Trauma Dressing Flat-packed pressure bandage Compressed Gauze Plain packing gauze, no agent Wound Packing Leg Trainer Practice packing on a realistic wound Free from MED-TAC The Trauma Brief MED-TAC's free trauma field guide, written by a physician and medical educator — what to do in the first minutes of a severe bleed, step by step. Get the Brief › Questions buyers ask ▾Is Combat Gauze CoTCCC-recommended?Yes. The TCCC Guidelines dated 25 January 2024 name Combat Gauze the CoTCCC hemostatic dressing of choice, and it appears on the CoTCCC Recommended Devices & Adjuncts list under NSN 6510-01-562-3325.1,2▾How long do I hold pressure?At least 3 minutes of firm, direct pressure after the wound is packed, and longer if it is still bleeding. Then secure the packing with a pressure bandage.1▾Does it get hot?No. Kaolin produces no heat. The heat problem belonged to the first-generation zeolite granules that Combat Gauze replaced.▾Does it work on someone taking blood thinners?Pack and hold exactly the same way. In laboratory testing on anticoagulated blood, kaolin still shifted clotting toward improvement;10 in the field, watch the wound closely for re-bleeding and reassess often.▾Is it safe for someone with a shellfish allergy?Yes. Combat Gauze uses kaolin, a mineral, and contains no shellfish-derived chitosan and no animal or human proteins.3▾What if the bleeding doesn't stop?Remove the packing and repack with a fresh dressing — Combat Gauze again or another hemostatic.1 Adding gauze on top of a pack that has failed does not stop the bleeding underneath it.▾Can I pack a chest or abdominal wound?No. Packing is for wounds you can fill and compress — the groin, armpit, neck and limbs. Never pack into the chest or abdomen.▾Who removes it?The hospital team, during wound care or surgery; the X-ray strip lets them confirm nothing is left behind. In the field, a pack that is holding stays in.▾How long does it last on the shelf?Five years from manufacture. The expiration date is printed on every pouch; replace expired or damaged pouches.▾Combat Gauze or Combat Gauze LE?Same 3 in. × 4 yd kaolin Z-fold dressing with an X-ray strip and a five-year shelf life. Combat Gauze is Teleflex item #200, the military NSN item; Combat Gauze LE is item #350, the version Teleflex markets to law enforcement.3▾Do I need training to use it?Wound packing is taught in public bleeding-control classes, TCCC and TECC courses, and EMS programs. The skill is simple, but it has to be practiced with your hands — use an inert trainer, not your live dressing.Package & specifications ▾In the package — one sterile dressing 1× QuikClot® Combat Gauze®, 3 in. × 4 yd (7.5 cm × 3.7 m), kaolin-impregnated nonwoven gauze, Z-folded Radiopaque strip running through the gauze Vacuum-sealed foil pouch with eight tear points Sterile, single use. Pressure bandage and gloves sold separately. ▾Full specifications Specification Detail Manufacturer Teleflex Incorporated — QuikClot® brand (formerly Z-Medica, LLC), Wallingford, CT, USA Manufacturer item #200 — QuikClot Combat Gauze®, 3 in. × 4 yd Z-fold with X-ray strip NSN 6510-01-562-3325 MED-TAC SKU MEDTAC0491 Active agent Kaolin, an inorganic mineral; no animal or human proteins Mechanism Activates Factor XII to accelerate the body's own clotting cascade Gauze Soft, white, nonwoven, hydrophilic; 3 in. × 4 yd (7.5 cm × 3.7 m); Z-fold Heat None — non-exothermic X-ray detectable Yes — radiopaque strip Packaging Vacuum-sealed pouch, eight tear points Weight 0.8 oz (23 g) Sterility Sterile, single use; sterility is lost if the package is damaged or opened Shelf life 5 years from manufacture Warnings (manufacturer) For external use only. Avoid contact with eyes. Do not reuse. Discard if the package is damaged. TCCC status CoTCCC hemostatic dressing of choice — TCCC Guidelines, 25 January 2024 Procurement DAPA listed; NSN-assigned Country of manufacture USA (manufacturer label) ▾References — 14 sources Deaton T, Drew B, Montgomery H, Butler F. Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Guidelines, 25 January 2024. J Spec Oper Med. 2024 (Spring). Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care. CoTCCC Recommended Devices & Adjuncts, 15 December 2021. Teleflex. QuikClot Combat Gauze® product information, item #200, and package labeling (Rev D, 2020). Schauer SG, April MD, Naylor JF, et al. QuikClot® Combat Gauze® use by ground forces in Afghanistan: the Prehospital Trauma Registry experience. J Spec Oper Med. 2017;17(2):101–106. Leonard J, Zietlow J, Morris D, Martinson K. A multi-institutional study of hemostatic gauze and tourniquets in rural civilian trauma. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2016. Zietlow JM, Zietlow SP, Morris DS, Berns KS, Jenkins DH. Prehospital use of hemostatic bandages and tourniquets: translation from military experience to implementation in civilian trauma care. J Spec Oper Med. 2015;15(2):48–53. Ran Y, Hadad E, Daher S, et al. QuikClot Combat Gauze use for hemorrhage control in military trauma: January 2009 Israel Defense Force experience in the Gaza Strip. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2010;25(6):584–588. Johnson D, Johnson M. The effects of QuikClot Combat Gauze and Celox Rapid on hemorrhage control. Am J Disaster Med. 2019;14(1):17–23. Kunio NR, Riha GM, Watson KM, et al. Chitosan based advanced hemostatic dressing is associated with decreased blood loss in a swine uncontrolled hemorrhage model. Am J Surg. 2013;205(5):505–510. Bar J, et al. Assessing coagulation by rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) in rivaroxaban-anticoagulated blood using hemostatic agents. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017. Kheirabadi BS, Scherer MR, Estep JS, Dubick MA, Holcomb JB. Determination of efficacy of new hemostatic dressings in a model of extremity arterial hemorrhage in swine. J Trauma. 2009;67(3):450–459. Griffin JH. Role of surface in surface-dependent activation of Hageman factor (blood coagulation Factor XII). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1978;75(4):1998–2002. Margolis J. The kaolin clotting time: a rapid one-stage method for diagnosis of coagulation defects. J Clin Pathol. 1958;11:406–409. Teleflex Incorporated. Form 10-Q, fiscal 2021 — acquisition of Z-Medica, LLC, completed 28 December 2020. Genuine QuikClot® by Teleflex Sourced direct from the manufacturer or an authorized master distributor. Ships from MED-TAC International, South Florida, US of A — clinician-founded, veteran-led, SDVOSB-certified. Show more