Every year an innumerable number of trauma patients die due to excess bleeding. It now seems that a drug used for treating heavy menstrual periods can save lives of such people. In a major breakthrough, scientists found that the medication Tranexamic acid (TXA) employed to treat heavy periods may stop bleeding in patients with a severe injury.
In order to examine the benefits of TXA in trauma patients with bleeding, experts undertook a systematic review of trials. The review included approximately 20,211 patients and one small trial of 240 patients. It appeared that TXA decreases the threat of death in injured patients with severe bleeding by around 10 percent as compared to giving no treatment.
Lead researcher Ian Roberts of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London, UK, and colleagues assert that TXA reduces the risk of a patient bleeding to death following an injury with few side effects. If employed worldwide, the drug can probably save almost 70,000 lives annually. It was concluded that TXA is significantly helpful in declining blood loss and averting the need for red blood cell transfusion.