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An easy-to-use blood-clotting drug that costs just a few dollars could save up to 100,000 lives each year from road accidents and violence, according to a paper published by The Lancet.

The original article can be found at: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/1069688/drug-could-save-100000-lives-a-year

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This article is informative but could have been even better if the journalist had pointed out that the trial was randomised - the gold standard for this type of work. In addition the results are only reported in a relative format. In fact the reduction in all cause mortality by one tenth translates into an absolute reduction of 1.5%. This means that for every 67 patients treated with tranexamic acid after serious trauma one person's life will be saved. This is highly significant because this is a relatively cheap one time treatment and most patients who survive these types of trauma go on to have an acceptable quality of life. The story does cover costs and potential adverse effects and in general represents a good example of reporting a very significant piece of research.

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