Injured Soldier via Shutterstock
According to the FDA, up to 40 percent of deaths from trauma occur because of blood loss. While a deep wound in an arm or leg may be managed by slowing bleeding with a tourniquet, such a wound to the groin or armpit, for example, would be much harder to control.
Enter XSTAT30.
This device was developed to control bleeding from the wounds of soldiers on the battlefield, a situation in which adequate care may well be unavailable.
It consists of a syringe-like device packed with 92 tiny cellulose sponges that are coated with anti-microbial and pro-clotting chitosan. When injected into a wound, the sponges absorb blood and fluids, as well as exerting pressure that can stop bleeding in a matter of seconds. The sponges in one applicator can absorb up to a pint of blood.
These tiny life-savers can work for up to four hours, and up to three applicators can be used at a time thus providing a window of time in which a wounded soldier can be transported to an acute-care facility.
Now the FDA has approved the XSTAT30 for use in civilians as well. This means that people suffering traumatic injuries say from a car accident will have a much better chance of making it to a hospital if the first responders have access to this treatment.
In the press release announcing the approval, Dr. William Maisel, acting director of the Office of Device Evaluation in the FDA s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, commented, It is exciting to see this technology transition to help civilian first responders control some severe, life-threatening bleeding while on the trauma scene.