The Origin of Celox™
(from an article in Army Times)
"A scientist walking down a beach in Washington state noticed lots of crabs with no legs — but none of them showed any signs of bleeding. Most animals that lose a limb tend to bleed again after the initial injury, so the scientist wondered why the crabs had such clean wounds. The answer: Most animals don’t have shells."It was the chitosan in the shells," explained Limor Shemer, spokesperson for Celox. "It stopped the bleeding." "
Celox™ is made of chitosan derived from shrimp shells. Chitosan has proven antimicrobial properties and is not a procoagulant. Chitosan is broken down and absorbed through normal metabolic pathways and has an extensive history of use in vascular closure and in human cardiac surgery. A three year history of use in emergency, military, and retail first aid has resulted in no reported incidents. It entails none of the risks associated with pro-coagulants and nano-particulates, and does not rely on the body's blood clotting mechanism. Shellfish allergies are not an issue; thousands of uses have not produced any reports of reactions by people who suffer seafood allergies.
More about Celox™
Under a microscope, Celox™ granules appear as flakes that have extremely high surface areas. When they come in contact with blood, those flakes swell and stick together to make a gelatinous clot. It stops bleeding by bonding with red blood cells and turning fluids to a gel, producing a sticky pseudo clot.
Safety:
The safety of Celox™ has been repeatedly demonstrated. Unlike some clay based hemostatic products:
• Celox™ does not initiate thrombogenesis at a distance from the product.
• Celox™ has a long history of safe human use.
• Celox™ demonstrates natural degradation pathways in the human body.
• Celox™ is not a clay nanoparticle.
• Celox™ has undergone rigorous Class III regulatory scrutiny
The Performance of Celox™ , Compared to other Hemostatics
This is an excerpt from an abstract published in the Journal of The Academy of Emergency Medicine:
An alternative hemostatic dressing: comparison of Celox™ , HemCon, and QuikClot™
.
The authors compared a new chitosan granule dressing (Celox™ [CX]) to HC, QC and standard dressing in a lethal hemorrhagic groin injury.
METHODS: A complex groin injury with transection of the femoral vessels and 3 minutes of uncontrolled hemorrhage was created in 48 swine. The animals were then randomized to four treatment groups (12 animals each). Group 1 included standard gauze dressing (SD); Group 2, CX; Group 3, HC; and Group 4, QC. Each agent was applied with 5 minutes of manual pressure followed by a standard field compression dressing. Hetastarch (500 mL) was infused over 30 minutes. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded over 180 minutes. Primary endpoints included rebleed and death.
RESULTS:
CX reduced rebleeding to 0% (p < 0.001)
HC to 33% (95% CI = 19.7% to 46.3%, p = 0.038)
QC to 8% (95% CI = 3.3% to 15.7%, p = 0.001)
CONCLUSIONS: In this porcine model of uncontrolled hemorrhage, CX improved hemorrhage control and survival. Celox™ is a viable alternative for the treatment of severe hemorrhage.
Position Paper on Celox™ Safety