A drug that was proven on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to help stem severe bleeding following traumatic injury is now being administered by New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s AirLink VitaLink Critical Care Transport, one of the first air medical transport services in the state to use it.

Tranexamic acid (TXA) is most effective to slow severe bleeding when administered within one hour of a severe injury. AirLink VitaLink is now able to administer this life-saving intervention prior to a patient’s arrival at the hospital’s trauma center, NHRMC officials said.

Following a major injury, the body can quickly exhaust its ability to clot blood. Tranexamic acid works by promoting the body’s ability to clot.

Studies have shown that administering TXA to severely injured patients before they arrive at a trauma center can help to reduce their risk of death by more than 30 percent.

“The more rapidly we can control major internal and external bleeding and begin replacing blood, the better a patient’s chances for a positive outcome,” Thomas Clancy, medical director of trauma services at New Hanover Regional, said in a news release.

Tranexamic acid is commonly administered within trauma centers, but during the recent wars, its use was studied in the battlefield and proven to be safe and highly effective in stabilizing patients before they arrived at a trauma center.

“With the addition of TXA to the comprehensive care offered by the AirLink VitaLink team, patients being transferred to NHRMC for trauma care can receive interventions to stop bleeding as soon as our staff arrives at their side,” Clancy said.

Now available on both AirLink helicopters and on every VitaLink critical care ambulance, TXA is administered to trauma patients who have vital signs or laboratory data that suggests severe bleeding.

“We are excited to be a leader in bringing this life-saving intervention to the bedside of patients throughout southeastern North Carolina,” John Popella, director of AirLink VitaLink Critical Care Transport, said in the release. “By administering TXA at the scene of an accident or at a referral hospital’s patient’s bedside, we will be providing care previously only available inside the walls of a trauma center.”