Could exhaled methane be used as a possible indicator for hemodynamic changes in trauma induced hemorrhagic shock? Scientific basis supported by a case study.

Introduction: Identification of severe blood loss and hemorrhagic shock in polytrauma patients poses a key challenge for trauma teams across the world, as there are just a few objective parameters, on which clinicians can rely. We investigated the relationship between exhaled air methane (CH) concentration and blood loss in a polytrauma patient. Decreased blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) is one of the first compensatory responses to blood loss.