Yeung et al reported a pictorial nomogram for estimating blood loss volume by paramedics. This can aid the initial management of a trauma patient. The authors are from Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The nomogram converts an area of blood to a blood volume. The corresponding equation is:
blood volume loss in mL =
= (area of blood in square cm) * 0.2728
This may assume that the thickness of pooled blood is 2.728 mm.
Assumptions:
(1) the surface on which the blood lies is flat
(2) there is no absorption of blood into the surface
The absolute percentage error rate was around 20-25%. The method tends to underestimate with larger blood loss volumes.
Prior methods used by the paramedics was to use the number of palms needed to cover the spilled blood, but this requires that each paramedic know their palm size.
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