Head injuries: Cheap drug 'could save thousands of lives a year'

Head injuries: Cheap drug 'could save thousands of lives a year' A cheap and widely available drug could save hundreds of thousands of lives a year worldwide if it was routinely given to people brought into hospital with head injuries, UK doctors say.

Tranexamic acid helps stop bleeding in and around the brain when blood vessels have been torn.

A large international study in The Lancet now suggests it improves patient survival rates if given early enough. BBC News

See also:

• Effects of tranexamic acid on death, disability, vascular occlusive events and other morbidities in patients with acute traumatic brain injury (CRASH-3): a randomised, placebo-controlled trial (open access) The Lancet
• Tranexamic acid could save lives of people with head injuries The Daily Mail