Haemostatic action of a topical foam-based patch (VELSEAL-T) in haemophiliac patients with external bleeding

Haemophilia is an X-linked congenital bleeding disorder due to deficiency of coagulation factor VIII (in haemophilia A) or factor IX (in haemophilia B) caused by mutations of the respective clotting factor genes. Treatment involves the administration of an appropriate dose of factor concentrate, as soon as possible, in the event of any bleeding episode. In low-resource settings, such as Northeast India, where factor concentrates are not widely available, people with haemophilia (PwH) may bleed profusely even from trivial external injuries, warranting transfusion of blood or blood products. We previously reported on the use of a low cost, foam-based haemostatic patch to treat an external bleed in a single patient. In this study, we investigated its use to treat a range of external injuries in PwH presenting at Assam Medical College and Hospital.