What indicates that a wound is continuing to bleed after treatment?

A blood-soaked dressing is a clear indicator that a wound is continuing to bleed after treatment. When dressings become saturated with blood, it suggests that the body's efforts to control the bleeding—such as clot formation—are inadequate or overwhelmed by the volume of blood loss. This warrants immediate reassessment of the wound and potentially further intervention to manage the hemorrhage.

In a clinical setting, the presence of soaking dressings necessitates urgent attention, as it may indicate severe trauma or coagulopathy that needs to be addressed to prevent shock or other life-threatening complications. The other options do not provide the same clear indicator of ongoing bleeding. For instance, dry bandages would indicate that the wound is not actively bleeding anymore, while a rapid heart rate may suggest shock due to loss of blood but is not exclusively indicative of continued bleeding. Stable blood pressure, on the other hand, can be misguiding, as a person can have stable blood pressure despite significant internal bleeding due to physiological compensation mechanisms. Thus, blood-soaked dressings are the most direct and immediate evidence of persistent hemorrhage.