Hemostatic compositions, assemblies, systems, and methods employing particulate hemostatic agents formed from hydrophilic polymer foam such as Chitosan

1. A method for stanching, sealing, or stabilizing a hemorrhage comprising providing a hemostatic agent comprising: a freeze-dried, heat-compressed, hemostatic chitosan or chitin material in a granule or particle form having a density between about 0.25 to 0.60 g/cm 3 and a granule or particle diameter of about 0.9 mm, and reacting said freeze-dried, heat-compressed, hemostatic chitosan material with at least one of blood, body fluid, and moisture at a hemorrhage site to adhere the compressed hemostatic chitosan material to a surface of the hemorrhage site.

2. The method according to claim 1

wherein the granule or particle carries within it dense chitosan beads.

3. A method for stanching, sealing, or stabilizing a hemorrhage comprising providing a freeze-dried, heat-compressed, hemostatic chitosan material in the form of a granule or particle having a density between about 0.25 to 0.60 g/cm 3 , said chitosan material being at least one of interspersed with strips of a bioresorbable polymer mesh material and carried in a polymer mesh socklet that is sufficiently open to allow for the granules or particles to protrude out of the socklet; and reacting said freeze-dried, heat-compressed, hemostatic chitosan material with at least one of blood, body fluid, and moisture at a hemorrhage site to adhere the compressed hemostatic chitosan material to a surface of the hemorrhage site.

4. A method for stanching, sealing, or stabilizing a hemorrhage comprising:

providing a hemostatic agent comprising÷a partially or fully deproteinized and partially or fully deacetylized chitosan or chitin crustacean shell material that has been ground into granule or particle form; and wherein the chitosan or chitin material is expanded and partially ruptured such that about two-thirds of an interior of a granule or particle radius is intact and about a remaining one-third of the granule or particle radius is expanded at a surface of the granule or particle; and

applying the agent to the hemorrhage.

5. A method according to claim 4

further including a polymer mesh socklet carrying the ground crustacean shell material that is sufficiently open to allow for the ground crustacean shell material to protrude out of the socklet.

6. The method according to claim 1 further comprising applying the freeze-dried, heat compressed, hemostatic chitosan material to the hemorrhage site with the application of direct pressure and compression.

7. The method according to claim 1 further comprising applying the freeze-dried, heat compressed, hemostatic chitosan material to the hemorrhage site without the application of direct pressure and compression.

8. The method according to claim 1

further comprising circumventing the immediate need for clotting proteins normally required for hemostasis.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the hemorrhage site is noncompressible.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the density of the freeze-dried, heat compressed, hemostatic chitosan material in the form of a granule or particle is between about 0.25 to 0.50 g/cm 3 .

11. The method according to claim 1 further comprising providing an adjuvant; and wherein the freeze-dried, heat compressed, hemostatic chitosan material in the form of a granule or particle comprises a chitosan salt prepared using at least one acid selected from the group consisting of acetic acid, lactic acid and glycolic acid.

12. The method according to claim 2 wherein the dense chitosan beads are prepared by flow mixing of a chitosan acid solution and a polyanion solution.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the polyanion solution comprises an alginate.

14. The method according to claim 3 further comprising applying the freeze-dried, heat compressed, hemostatic chitosan material to the hemorrhage site with the application of direct pressure and compression.

15. The method according to claim 3 further comprising applying the freeze-dried, heat compressed, hemostatic chitosan material to the hemorrhage site without the application of direct pressure and compression.

16. The method according to claim 3

further comprising circumventing the immediate need for clotting proteins normally required for hemostasis.

17. The method according to claim 3 wherein the hemorrhage site is noncompressible.

18. The method according to claim 3 wherein the density of the freeze-dried, heat compressed, hemostatic chitosan material in the form of a granule or particle is between about 0.25 to 0.50 g/cm 3 .

19. The method according to claim 3 further comprising providing an adjuvant; and wherein the freeze-dried, heat compressed, hemostatic chitosan material in the form of a granule or particle comprises a chitosan salt prepared using at least one acid selected from the group consisting of acetic acid, lactic acid and glycolic acid.

20. The method of claim 3 wherein the granule or particle carries within it dense chitosan beads prepared by flow mixing of a chitosan acid solution and a polyanion solution.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the polyanion solution comprises an alginate.

22. The method of claim 3 comprising applying the freeze-dried, heat compressed, hemostatic chitosan material in the form of a granule or particle carried in a polymer mesh socklet through one of a cannula and a syringe.

23. The method according to claim 4

further comprising applying the chitosan or chitin crustacean shell material to the hemorrhage site with the application of direct pressure and compression.

24. The method according to claim 4

further comprising applying the chitosan or chitin crustacean shell material to the hemorrhage site without the application of direct pressure or compression.

25. The method according to claim 4

further comprising circumventing the immediate need for clotting proteins normally required for hemostasis.

26. The method according to claim 4 wherein the hemorrhage site is noncompressible.

27. The method of claim 4 wherein the chitosan or chitin crustacean shell material is expanded and partially ruptured using CO 2 .

28. The method according to claim 4 wherein the chitosan or chitin crustacean shell material is granulated under ambient temperature.