Which of the following is the cause of secondary hemorrhage?: (A) Dislodgement of clot within 24 hours, (B) Normalisation of blood pressure, (C) Sloughing of blood vessel wall, (D) All of the above
Answer is C. Primary hemorrhage is hemorrhage occurring immediately as a result of an injury (or surgery).
Reactionary hemorrhage is delayed hemorrhage (within 24 hours) and is usually caused by dislodgement of clot by resuscitation, normalisation of blood pressure and vasodilatation. Reactionary hemorrhage may also result from technical failure such as slippage of a ligature.
Secondary hemorrhage usually occurs 7-14 days after injury. It is caused by sloughing of blood vessel wall.