[Acute traumatic haemorrhagic shock and transfusion: what's new in 2009?].

In spite of continuous progress in surgery and in interventional radiology, massive haemorrhage remains a leading cause of death in traumatology. The transfusional strategy appears a key step in the treatment of haemorrhagic shock. In the light of new insights into the pathophysiology of coagulopathies associated with traumatic shock it seems reasonable to transfuse patients with haemorrhagic shock earlier than previously recommended.