DesertFox
06-20-2007, 08:48 PM
A blood thinner routinely used to prevent brain damage in strokes dramatically reduced the risk of amputation from severe frostbite in a preliminary study.
Researchers report that only 10 percent of frostbitten toes and fingers had to be amputated in patients who were given tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), an anti-clotting agent, in addition to standard frostbite treatment (rewarming, rehydrating and cleaning the wounded areas); in contrast, 41 percent of frostbitten digits had to be amputated in victims who received only conventional care.
More (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=452D222B-E7F2-99DF-30EE753EC612FFD0&chanID=sa003)
Researchers report that only 10 percent of frostbitten toes and fingers had to be amputated in patients who were given tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), an anti-clotting agent, in addition to standard frostbite treatment (rewarming, rehydrating and cleaning the wounded areas); in contrast, 41 percent of frostbitten digits had to be amputated in victims who received only conventional care.
More (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=452D222B-E7F2-99DF-30EE753EC612FFD0&chanID=sa003)