In March of 2011, Tranexamic Acid, an antifibrinolytic drug was introduced to the World Health Organization List of Essential Medicines. Section 10 of the list stated “addition of TXA injection for the treatment of adult patients with trauma and significant risk of ongoing hemorrhage…the committee concluded that there is sufficient evidence to support the proposal that listing TXA may contribute to a reduction in this cause of death.” Trauma is the leading cause of death in people under the age of 45 in the United Sates. Furthermore, the most common cause of death that is associated in trauma patients is due to severe hemorrhaging.
Normal clotting mechanisms consist of thrombin converting fibrinogen to fibrin, which helps control blood loss. …show more content…
Both of these factors can result in a condition known as acute traumatic coagulopathy. Acute Traumatic Coagulopathy is defined as “a complex system of changes to normal clotting responses, occurring early in the patient’s clinical course.” This condition is often fatal and is associated with a 50% mortality rate. Hemorrhaging associated with trauma is most times the beginning of a deadly cycle resulting in other medical issues such as inflammation, increased coagulopathy, and shock. Now the provider has a multitude of problems that they must be able to efficiently and appropriately manage. This can be extremely overwhelming and stressful for the …show more content…
Each trauma patient presents to healthcare providers with various wounds and different mechanisms of injury. Each case is unique in of itself. One of the articles that I read during my research evaluation process discussed compressible wounds versus non-compressible wounds. The examples used in the article were a wound to the extremity representing the compressing wound and a gunshot wound to an area of the torso representing a non-compressible wound. The author explained how injuries sustained to the torso were more significant and an increased risk of injury to a great vessel was more common in these injuries. The significance of this information pertaining to non-compressible hemorrhaging injuries leads us to research and discovery of some drug that will essentially be an internal tourniquet and help control massive hemorrhaging that cannot be managed by direct pressure. Tranexamic Acid is an antifibrinolytic drug that is thought to be beneficial to trauma patients sustaining severe