A potato-based powder can clot blood instantly, reported researchers at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting in October.
This U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved hemostat agent produces immediate coagulation at the surface of a wound, followed by normal blood-clotting processes. The agent is made of purified potato starch processed to create porous, spherical microparticles.
The hemostat agent is applied as a fine topical powder through a small, bellows-like reservoir. It acts as a dehydrating "sponge" when applied to the bleeding source, soaking up water and blood plasma. The large surface area of the particles gives the hemostat its dehydrating action, while the small size of the microparticles allows the body’s enzymes to rapidly degrade it. According to laboratory findings, almost all traces of the substance disappear within hours.
A study of 30 volunteers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that the potato powder along with applied pressure produced instantaneous homeostasis of small forearm incisions in 77 percent of the cases, compared with a median bleeding time of approximately six minutes at control sites.
Researchers say another benefit of this powder is that it does not cause allergic reactions, which collagen-based and animal-derived hemostats do in some patients. "Of the many topical hemostats developed over the past 40 years, none has had as small a side effect profile as this one," said lead researcher Mark H. Ereth, M.D.
