The makers of the XSTAT hemostatic device, a syringe filled with tiny sponges used to stem excessive blood caused by a severe injury, has announced the first documented clinical use of the product since its release.
The injection, which is filled with tiny cellulose sponges that are coated in a coagulant and an antimicrobial called chitosan, was specially designed to help save bullet wound victims from excessive blood loss. Xstat was both approved by the FDA and began its first shipments to the US Military just last year.
In an announcement on May 20, RevMedx revealed that it had received confirmation from the US Military that the Xstat hemostatic device had been used for the first time to save the life of a soldier.
According to information supplied by the US Military, a soldier had suffered a gunshot wound to the upper left leg. The bullet had caused damage to femoral artery and vein and further damage to the femur and soft tissue had left a sizable cavity in the leg.
After a self-applied tourniquet stopped the bleeding, the patient was transferred to a United States forward surgical team (FST) for evaluation and treatment.
Throughout the course of the roughly 7-hour surgery, multiple attempts at using bone wax and cautery on the bleeding sites were unsuccessful and the patient received multiple units of blood and plasma.
Immediate hemostasis with Xstat
Eventually, the FST team opted to use Xstat and applied a single Xstat device to the femoral cavity, which resulted in nearly immediate hemostasis (the stopping of a flow of blood). The patient was stabilised and eventually transported to a definitive care facility.
“The first-in-human experience with Xstat is the culmination of tremendous effort on the part of both RevMedx and our military collaborators,” said Andrew Barofsky, president and CEO of RevMedx. “We are pleased to see Xstat play a critical role in saving a patient’s life and hope to see significant advancement toward further adoption of Xstat as a standard of care for severe hemorrhage in pre-hospital settings” said Barofsky.
Xstat is a first-in-kind hemostatic device for the treatment of severe bleeding in the axilla or groin area (known as junctional wounds). Xstat works by injecting a group of small, rapidly-expanding sponges into a wound cavity using a syringe-like applicator. In a wound, the sponges rapidly expand and exert hemostatic pressure. Each sponge contains an x-ray detectable marker to confirm complete surgical removal when definitive surgery is performed.
