Carl Livingstone reviews two trials of a blood-clotting agent involving people who had sustained traumatic injuries with significant exsanguination

In the UK, care for people with major injuries has improved since the introduction of trauma networks and major trauma centres, and since ambulance services began to use specific triage tools to identify major trauma. The advent of consultant-led trauma teams in emergency departments and implementation of the relevant protocols have also raised the standard of trauma care. One such protocol governs the use of tranexamic acid (TXA), which is used to control bleeding. This drug is cheap and widely available, and can save lives if administered within three hours of injury. This article reviews two recent major studies of the effects of TXA on trauma patients