Upon examining data from over 200,000 trauma patients, a recent study published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia found that women were less likely to receive tranexamic acid treatment for major trauma than men in both prehospital and hospital settings, despite a lack of difference in the drug’s effectiveness in male and female patients. The study’s co-author Dr Ian Roberts, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, says the results were very concerning as tranexamic acid was “the only proven lifesaving treatment for traumatic bleeding.”Studies have found that female patients with chest pain are less likely than their male counterparts to receive aspirin, nitroglycerin, or the establishment of intravenous access from emergency medical services. Female trauma patients also tend to experience longer delays in receiving trauma care and were more likely to be discharged to nursing facilities than males. Given these disparities in emergency care, the present study examined sex differences in the use and effectiveness of tranexamic acid in patients with traumatic injuries.
Studies suggest that there are differences in health outcomes in men and women. These differences in health outcomes can arise due to biological differences between the male and female sexes. For instance, sex differences may influence the metabolism of drugs and their activity, impacting their effectiveness or side effects. However, sex and gender disparities in access to healthcare and the quality of care provided also contribute to differences in health outcomes. Such disparities have also been observed in the provision of trauma or emergency medical care.
There are many examples now indicating that women patients receive better outcomes when cared for by women physicians. Women researchers are more likely to include women subjects in research. Women book editors are more likely to include illustrations of women in medical textbooks.