Tranexamic Acid for Trauma Patients — More Lives to Save and Outcomes to Consider

Traumatic hemorrhage accounts for approximately 2 million deaths each year worldwide.1 In 2010, the results of the Clinical Randomisation of an Antifibrinolytic in Significant Haemorrhage (CRASH)–2 trial showed that tranexamic acid reduces mortality among patients with bleeding trauma.2 Exploratory analyses showed that early treatment was most effective, with no benefit when the drug was administered more than 3 hours after injury.3 In 2011, tranexamic acid was included in the Model List of Essential Medicines from the World Health Organization for the treatment of trauma.4 The resources available for the acute care and rehabilitation of patients might matter. The CRASH-2 trial . . .