Experimental Technique Could Save Lives, But There's An Ethics Issue

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Army researchers hope to save lives with a new use for an old technique.

But as Mike Schuh reports, it requires experimentation on people, who haven't given their permission.

At Shock Trauma lives are being saved. But some patients are in such bad shape, there's no saving them like particularly puncture wounds, gunshots and stabbings -- wounds where there is massive blood loss and cardiac arrest.

So now the Army is funding a study to lower body temperatures, while the doctors try to save lives.

"It works in animals," said . Whether or not it'll work in people, he said, "that's what we have to find out," said Dr. Thomas Scalea, physician-in-chief at Shock Trauma.

But there's an ethics issue.

In this study, by the time a patient gets here into the heart of Shock Trauma, they're in such bad condition, they're minutes from death and not able to give permission.

Shock Trauma is putting out the word that permission to use the new treatment is assumed, if you don't want to get one of these wristbands.

"They opt out and they're not included and that's perfectly fine if they want to -- on the other hand that gives them a 98 percent chance of is this happens to them they are not going to survive," Dr. Scalea says.

The doctor who saves fallen officers is world renown and doesn't have space to mount all his accolades makers no promises, but says it's worth a try.

Dr Scalea says, "It's hard to do worse than what we're doing now."

Once the review board gives permission, Dr. Scalea says he has teams already trained in the new possibly life saving procedure.