According to the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, 30% to 40% of civilian deaths from traumatic injury are due to hemorrhaging, and as many as half of patients die before reaching a hospital.
Recently, the FDA approved the use of XStat 30, a wound dressing used to control severe bleeding on the battlefield, for civilian emergencies and patients at high risk of life-threatening hemorrhagic shock.
The manufacturer calls it a first of its kind hemostatic device that comprises syringe-style applicators with 92 compressed cellulose sponges and an absorbent coating. Each sponge also contains an X-ray-detectable marker.
The tiny sponges are dispensed directly into the wound where they expand within 20 seconds of contact with blood, blocking blood flow and providing hemostatic pressure for wounds in the groin or axilla when a tourniquet cannot be placed. Each applicator’s worth of sponges can absorb about a pint of blood and can be used for up to 4 hours, allowing time to get the patient to a hospital.
