South Ga. Medical Center receives new lifesaving medication for trauma patients

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - Trauma is the leading cause of death for children and adults under the age of 44, according to the CDC.

To tackle such a problem in Lowndes County, the South Georgia Medical Center (SGMC) has a new medication to help trauma patients with severe blood loss.

“One of the biggest complications in an area surrounded with some more rural areas is longer transport times, unfortunately. So being able to bring treatments closer to home and closer to where people are injured is very helpful,” Training Captain for SGMC’s Emergency Medical Services, Todd Daniel said.

According to South Georgia Medical Center, in 2022, they treated approximately 2,000 trauma patients, and 730 of those were admitted into their hospital.

With SGMC servicing such a largely rural area, they say this new medication could be critical to patient survival.

“Tranexamic Acid (TXA) originally got popularity from the military, and it’s a medication that can help stop your blood clots from breaking down. Which, if you’re bleeding from trauma, is a very good thing. And there’s actually a lot of benefits,” Grant Barker, an emergency physician at SGMC, said.

Daniel believes this new medication is needed for a wide range of trauma-related incidents.

“We’ve run multiple car wrecks in the past that patients would’ve benefited greatly and possibly even survived had they had TXA in the field,” Daniel said. “This is all a part of improving our trauma care for our community and our response area.”

SGMC says the availability of TXA on all of their ambulances is just one of many ways pre-hospital providers provide exceptional care for their trauma patients.

“They’ve found that maybe up to about 10% less people will end up dying from massive bleeding when it’s given early,” Barker said. “Our ambulances cover a very wide area, so the earlier that it can be given, obviously the better benefit to the patients.”

SGMC’s Emergency Medical Services says they have seen several incidents, some involving teenage children, where this medication could have saved lives.

“Some of our response areas are in Echols County and that could be up to a 45-minute response back to the hospital. So, if we’re giving TXA to a trauma patient from far out, it could help us with that coagulation and help build those clots to stop the bleeding,” Daniel said.

SGMC leaders have made substantial progress towards meeting the goal of becoming a Level III Trauma Center. Including collecting a massive amount of patient data.

“I think it’s great that we are getting some more cutting-edge medical treatments that can help benefit members of the community,” Grant said.

SGMC says pushing towards becoming a Level III Trauma Center, as well as offering this new medication, is a couple of ways they are providing exceptional care to their patients.

Copyright 2023 WALB. All rights reserved.