Six months ago, we reported a new device called the XSTAT, which was approved by the FDA and capable of plugging bullet wounds in seconds.
Well, the unique gunshot-plugging syringe just saved its first life, using its sponges to aid a coalition forces soldier who was shot in the leg.
Officially known as the XSTAT Rapid Hemostasis System, the syringe was approved for military use back in 2014, but this marks the first documented clinical use of the XSTAT since it was developed by RevMedx Inc.
Essentially, the XSTAT utilizes expandable, pill-sized sponges to treat areas of severe bleeding while a patient is being transported to a hospital or other medical facility.
After surgery, each individual sponge can be removed from the patient’s body thanks to x-ray markers located in each small sponge.
The Journal of Emergency Medical Services explains how the XSTAT helped stopped the bleeding from a gunshot wound the soldier experienced in his left thigh.
The femoral artery and vein were transected and damage to the femur and soft tissue left a sizable cavity in the leg. After a self-applied tourniquet stopped the bleeding, the patient was transferred to an FST for evaluation and treatment. After proximal and distal control of the vessel was achieved, several hours were spent by the team trying to control residual bleeding from the bone and accessory vessels. Throughout the course of the roughly 7-hour surgery, multiple attempts at using bone wax and cautery on the bleeding sites were unsuccessfull and the patient received multiple units of blood and plasma. Eventually, the FST team opted to use XSTAT and applied a single XSTAT device to the femoral cavity— resulting in nearly immediate hemostasis. The patient was stabilized and eventually transported to a definitive care facility.
President and CEO of RevMedx, Andrew Barofsky, commented on the success of the XSTAT system. “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,” Barofsky said.
Moving forward, hopefully we see the XSTAT used more and more, ultimately saving the lives of patients who would be in trouble without the sponge-filled syringe.
