Pre-hospital Anti-fibrinolytics for Traumatic Coagulopathy and Haemorrhage (The PATCH Study)

Summary

The purpose of this research is to determine whether giving severely injured adults a drug called tranexamic acid (TXA) as soon as possible after injury will improve their chances of survival and their level of recovery at six months.

After severe injury, a person may have uncontrolled bleeding that places them at high risk of bleeding to death. Coagulation (the formation of blood clots) is an important process in the body that helps to control blood loss. Up to a quarter of people that are severely injured have a condition called acute traumatic coagulopathy. This condition affects coagulation and results in the break down of blood clots (fibrinolysis) that can lead to increased blood loss and an increased risk of dying.

TXA is an anti-fibrinolytic drug that might help to reduce the effects of acute traumatic coagulopathy by preventing blood clots from breaking down and helping to control bleeding. In Australia, TXA is approved for use by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to reduce blood loss or the need for blood transfusion in patients undergoing surgery (i.e. cardiac surgery, knee or hip arthroplasty). Recent evidence from a large clinical trial (CRASH-2) showed early treatment with TXA reduced the risk of death in severely injured patients, however the majority of patients involved in the study were injured in countries where prehospital care is limited and rapid access to lifesaving treatments is limited compared to that available in countries like Australia and New Zealand. It is unclear whether TXA will reduce the risk of death to the same degree when it is given alongside other lifesaving treatments that are available to patients soon after injury in these countries.

The hypothesis is that TXA given early to injured patients who are at risk of acute traumatic coagulopathy and who are treated in countries with systems providing advanced trauma care reduces mortality and improves recovery at 6-months after injury.

Conditions

• Wounds and Injuries
• Acute Coagulopathy

Interventions

DRUG

Tranexamic Acid

Tranexamic acid is a synthetic lysine derivative that inhibits fibrinolysis by blocking the lysine binding sites on plasminogen therefore inhibiting the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin. Intravenous injection of 1g Tranexamic Acid will be administered in the pre-hospital setting followed by 1g Tranexamic Acid infused intravenously over 8 hours initiated in the hospital emergency department.

DRUG

Placebo

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia

  collaborator OTHER

• Health Research Council, New Zealand

  collaborator OTHER

• Monash University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Russell L Gruen, MBBS PhD · Monash University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-07-28

Primary Completion

2022-05-09

Completion

2022-09-07

Countries

• Australia
• New Zealand

Study Locations