Tranexamic acid reduces hidden blood loss in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures with PFNA: a single-center randomized controlled trial

Effects of aminocaproic acid on perioperative hidden blood loss in elderly patients with femoral intertrochanteric fracture treated with proximal femoral nail anti-rotation

Objective

To determine the efficacy of aminocaproic acid on perioperative hidden blood loss (HBL) in elderly patients with femoral intertrochanteric fracture treated with proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA).

Methods

Seventy consecutively admitted elderly patients with femoral intertrochanteric fracture treated with PFNA between 1 May 2017 and 1 May 2018 were recruited. The patients were randomised into the experimental and control groups receiving 1 g aminocaproic acid in 200 mL saline and only 200 mL normal saline intravenously, respectively. The following factors were recorded: demographic characteristics, haemoglobin and haematocrit levels on preoperative day 1 and postoperative days 1 and 3, surgical blood loss, postoperative drainage, the rate and volume of transfusion, and complications.

Results

No significant differences were seen in surgical blood loss and postoperative drainage between the experimental and control groups, though total blood loss was greater in the control group. Visible blood loss and HBL were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group, and a lower rate and volume of transfusion were also recorded in the experimental group.

Conclusion

Aminocaproic acid significantly reduced perioperative HBL and volume and rate of transfusion in elderly patients with femoral intertrochanteric fracture receiving PFNA.

Efficacy and Safety of Tranexamic Acid in Intertrochanteric Fractures: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective

To investigate the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid (TXA) in the reduction of bleeding and the need for transfusion in elderly intertrochanteric fracture patients.

Methods

A total of 100 patients with intertrochanteric fractures undergoing surgery were enrolled and randomly allocated to the TXA group in which patients (75.10 ± 8.27 years old) were treated with 1 g of TXA, or the control group (77.82 ± 6.42 years old) treated with a placebo. Surgery was performed by two senior orthopaedic surgeons from two institutions. The proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) was conducted using the standard procedure. Three outcome measures, including blood loss, transfusion, and complications, were recorded. Blood loss and transfusion were investigated to assess TXA's effectiveness, while complications were investigated to assess TXA's safety. Statistical indicators for blood loss included total, intraoperative, postoperative, and hidden blood loss volumes, calculated by hemoglobin levels, hematocrit levels, and drainage volume. The number and amount of blood transfusions were recorded. Complications associated with surgery, including deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, wound hematoma, wound infection, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents, and respiratory infections, were also recorded.

Results

All patients were followed up for 1 month after surgery. There were no significant differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between the two groups. The TXA group suffered significantly less total blood loss (563.37 ± 197.51 vs 819.25 ± 273.96 mL, 95% CI: −349.49 to −162.27, P < 0.01), intraoperative blood loss (140.3 ± 80.64 vs 230.5 ± 130.56 mL, 95% CI −132.74 to −47.66, P < 0.01), and hidden blood loss (410.42 ± 178.23 vs 571.19 ± 218.13 mL, 95% CI: −238.85 to −82.69, P < 0.01) than the control group. However, postoperative total blood loss was not significantly different (97.5 ± 20.93 vs 94.7 ± 35.78 mL; P = 0.63). A total of 5 patients from the TXA group and 27 from the control group received packed RBC for postoperative transfusion, but the mean number of transfusion units was not significantly different between groups. Complications including deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, ischemic cerebral infarction, hematoma, and infection were observed in both groups, but no significant differences were found.

Conclusions

In intertrochanteric fracture surgery performed using PFNA, intravenous administration of TXA significantly reduced the risk of intraoperative, total and hidden blood loss, in addition to the need for allogeneic transfusion, without increasing the rate of complications.

Clinical application of auricular point sticking in perioperative hemostasis for elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures of the femur

We investigated the clinical application of auricular point sticking (APS) combined with tranexamic acid in perioperative hemostasis in elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures of the femur.This is a prospective cohort study, and we analyzed 86 elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures of the femur who underwent closed reduction and internal fixation with proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) between January 2016 and December 2016. The patients were divided into auricular point combined with tranexamic acid group (APS group, n = 43) and tranexamic acid alone group (Control group, n = 43). APS was performed for patients using Vaccaria seeds 1 to 2 days before the operation. The 4 acupoints of hemostasis, including spleen, diaphragm, pituitary, and adrenal gland, as well as acupoint of hip joint, were selected. Routine treatment was performed using tranexamic acid alone in the control group. Blood transfusion, intraoperative, postoperative, and total blood loss were compared between the 2 groups.This study enrolled 36 males and 50 females aged 71 to 93 years (average age: 78.5 years). There were no significant differences in gender, age, height, weight, preoperative hematocrit level, fracture classification, operative time, and hospitalization stay (P > .05). Total blood loss was lower in the APS group than the control group (244.26, 197.87-258.50 ml vs 533.94, 424.00-598.09 ml, P < .01). The blood transfusion rate was 14.0% in the APS group and 34.9% in the control group (P = .02).APS can reduce perioperative bleeding and decrease the need for blood transfusion in elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures of the femur. This noninvasive method can be applied clinically. Randomized trials may be needed to confirm the findings.

Is intravenous tranexamic acid effective and safe during hip fracture surgery? An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

INTRODUCTION

The efficacy and safety of intravenous (IV) tranexamic acid (TXA) during hip fracture surgery remain controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of IV-TXA administration during hip fracture surgery for reducing the transfusion requirement and blood loss as well as its safety regarding the risk of thrombolysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library Database were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that focused on the efficacy and safety of IV-TXA in patients during hip fracture surgery. The primary outcome was the transfusion requirement. Secondary outcomes included total blood loss (TBL), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and total thromboembolic events (TTEs). Risk ratio (RR), risk difference (RD), and mean difference (MD) for dichotomous and continuous data outcomes were determined from the meta-analysis. Data were analyzed using Rev Man 5.3.

RESULTS

Altogether, 11 RCTs were included (total sample size 892 patients). IV-TXA significantly reduced the transfusion requirement [RR 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.38-0.93, P = 0.02] and TBL (MD 326.64 ml, 95% CI - 462.23 to - 191.06, P < 0.00001) vs. cosntrol group. IV-TXA caused no increased risk of DVT (RD 0.02, 95% CI - 0.01 to 0.04, P = 0.13) or TTEs (RD 0.02, 95% CI - 0.01 to 0.05, P = 0.12).

CONCLUSION

Available evidence indicates that IV-TXA efficaciously reduces TBL and transfusion requirements during hip fracture surgery without significantly increasing the risk of TTEs including DVT.

Efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in elderly patients with intertrochanteric fracture: An updated meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Intertrochanteric fracture (ITF) is a common type of injury, and nearly 30% of ITF patients die in the first 12 mo, especially the elderly with limited activity. Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been widely used in reducing traumatic and surgical bleeding, however, the paucity of studies regarding its use in orthopedic trauma surgery has limited its integration into this field, which may benefit most from TXA. The safety of TXA in this group has not achieved a consensus.

AIM

This meta-analysis was designed to investigate the efficacy and safety of TXA in elderly ITF patients undergoing surgery.

METHODS

Databases, including Medline and PubMed, were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were published before October 2018 and that addressed the efficacy and safety of TXA in patients who underwent ITF surgery. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials 2010 Statement Checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of each study. Trials without and with heterogeneity were compared by fixed-effects analysis and random-effects analysis, respectively. For each study, odds ratio (OR) and 95%CI and mean differences and 95%CI were calculated for dichotomous and continuous outcomes, respectively. The Power and Sample Size Program software was used to calculate power and sample size. Stability of the results was assessed via sensitivity analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 836 patients from eight RCTs were subjected to meta-analysis. TXA treatment compared with the control group significantly reduced postoperative blood loss (95%CI, -20.83 to -7.93 mL, P < 0.0001), hidden blood loss (95%CI, -213.67 to -64.43 mL, P = 0.0003), and total blood loss (95%CI, -332.49 to -23.18 mL, P = 0.02) by weighted mean differences of -14.38, -139.05, and -177.83 mL, respectively. However, no significant difference was observed between groups for analysis of intraoperative blood loss. The meta-analysis also proved that the usage of TXA in ITFs may not significantly increase the incidence of deep venous thrombosis. Allogeneic blood transfusion data showed that significantly fewer patients in the TXA group (42%) required transfusion than the control group (95%CI, 0.36 to 0.69; P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

In ITF surgery, intravenous administration of TXA reduces the risk of hidden blood loss and the need for allogeneic transfusion, without increasing thrombotic risk.

Tranexamic acid can reduce blood loss in patients undergoing intertrochanteric fracture surgery: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

This meta-analysis aimed to assess whether administration tranexamic acid (TXA) could reduce blood loss and transfusion requirements in patients undergoing intertrochanteric fracture surgery.

METHODS

We performed an electronic search of PubMed (1950-October 2018), EMBASE (1974-October 2018), the Cochrane Library (October 2018 Issue 3), the Google database (1950-October 2018), and the Chinese Wanfang database (1950-October 2018). Studies were included in accordance with Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Setting (PICOS) including criteria. Intertrochanteric fracture patients prepared for surgery were selected. Administration with TXA and the placebo or no interventions were considered as an intervention and comparators, respectively. Measures related to total blood loss, blood loss in drainage, hemoglobin on postoperative day were analyzed. A fixed/random-effects model was used according to the heterogeneity assessed by the I statistic. Data analysis was performed using Stata 12.0 software.

RESULTS

A total of five RCTs with 584 patients (TXA group = 289, control group = 298) were included in the meta-analysis. Based on the results, administration of TXA was associated with a reduction in total blood loss, blood loss in drainage, need for transfusion, length of hospital stay, and occurrence of hematoma (P < .05). Administration of TXA increased the hemoglobin level at 3 days after surgery (P < .05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the occurrence of deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or infection (P > .05).

CONCLUSION

Administration of TXA is associated with reduced total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, and transfusion requirements in patients with intertrochanteric fractures. Additional high-quality RCTs should be conducted in the future.

Exclusion criteria and adverse events in perioperative trials of tranexamic acid: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an inexpensive therapy effective at minimizing perioperative blood loss and transfusion. However, it remains underutilized due to safety concerns. To date, no evidence-based guidelines exist identifying which patients should not receive TXA therapy. This study determined patient groups for whom safety information regarding TXA is lacking due to common exclusion from perioperative TXA trials.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A systematic review searching the databases Medline, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and Clinicaltrials.gov was performed. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) administering systemic TXA perioperatively to elective or emergent surgery patients were eligible. Our primary outcome was to describe exclusion criteria of RCTs, and the secondary outcome was TXA safety. A descriptive synthesis of exclusion criteria was performed, and TXA safety was assessed by meta-analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 268 eligible RCTs were included. Meta-analysis showed that systemic TXA did not increase risk of adverse events compared to placebo or no intervention (relative risk, 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 0.99-1.12). Patient groups commonly excluded from perioperative TXA trials, and thus potentially lacking TXA safety data, were those with major comorbidities, a history of thromboembolism, medication use affecting coagulation, TXA allergy, and coagulopathy. Exclusion of patients with major comorbidities may not be necessary; we showed that the risk of adverse events was similar in studies that excluded patients with major comorbidities and those that did not.

CONCLUSION

Sufficient evidence exists to develop perioperative guidelines for TXA use in many populations. Further studies evaluating perioperative TXA use in patients with a history of thromboembolism are warranted.

Hepatitis C is an Independent Risk Factor for Perioperative Complications and Nonroutine Discharge in Patients Treated Surgically for Hip Fractures

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relationship between noncirrhotic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, perioperative complications, and discharge status in patients undergoing surgical procedures for hip fractures.

METHODS

A retrospective epidemiological study was performed, querying the National Hospital Discharge Survey. Patients were selected using the International Classification of Diseases-9 diagnostic codes for hip fracture and primary procedural codes for open reduction internal fixation, hemiarthroplasty, total hip arthroplasty, or internal fixation. Patients with concurrent cirrhosis, HIV, hepatitis A, B, D, or E were excluded. Pearson χ tests, independent-samples t test, and multivariable binary logistic regression were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Two cohorts surgically treated for a hip fracture were identified and compared. The first cohort included 5377 patients with a concurrent diagnosis of noncirrhotic HCV infection (HCV+) and the second included 4,712,159 patients without a diagnosis of HCV (HCV-). The HCV+ cohort was younger and had fewer medical comorbidities, yet was found to have a longer length of hospital stay, higher rates of nonroutine discharge, and higher rates of complications than the HCV- cohort. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that HCV+ is an independent risk factor for perioperative complications and nonroutine discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, our study demonstrates a negative association between noncirrhotic HCV infection and hip fracture surgery outcomes. Caution and appropriate preparation should be taken when surgically treating hip fractures in HCV+ patients because of higher risk of perioperative complications and nonroutine discharge.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

A systematic review of tranexamic acid usage in patients undergoing femoral fracture surgery

BACKGROUND

Patients undergoing femoral fracture surgery frequently require blood transfusion. Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been widely used to decrease transfusion rate in joint replacement surgery. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TXA usage in femoral fracture surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Studies involving TXA usage in femoral fracture surgery were searched through four electronic databases. The end points included total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, transfusion rate, thromboembolic events, 90-day mortality, and operative time. The present study was performed following Cochrane Reviewers' Handbook and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and was carried out by using Stata 14.0 software.

RESULTS

Eleven studies concerning intravenous (IV) application of TXA and three studies concerning topical administration of TXA were included. Twelve studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and one was a retrospective cohort study. Regarding IV TXA, our paper indicated that the IV TXA group had less total blood loss (weighted mean difference [WMD] = -319.282, P = 0.000), lower postoperative hemoglobin decline (WMD = -1.14, P = 0.000) and lower transfusion rate (risk difference [RD] = -0.172, P = 0.000). No significant differences were found in thromboembolic events (RD = 0.008, P = 0.507), 90-day mortality (RD = 0.009, P = 0.732) and operative time (WMD = -2.227, P = 0.103). Regarding topical TXA, no significant differences were found in the transfusion rate (RD = -0.098, P = 0.129), postoperative hemoglobin decline (WMD = -1.137, P = 0.231), thromboembolic events (RD = -0.017, P = 0.660) and operative time (WMD = -4.842, P = 0.136).

CONCLUSION

Our meta-analysis demonstrated that both IV and topical application of TXA reduced transfusion rate in femoral fracture surgery. However, still further studies are needed to identify the optimal route of administration, TXA dosage and timing. In addition, high-quality RCTs with a large sample size are required to figure out the safety of TXA application, especially in the elderly, before its wide recommendation.

Efficacy and Safety of Tranexamic Acid for Blood Salvage in Intertrochanteric Fracture Surgery: A Meta-Analysis

The use of tranexamic acid (TXA) for reducing blood loss in intertrochanteric fracture (IF) surgery remains controversial. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TXA in reducing transfusion requirements and blood loss for IF surgery. Databases, including PubMED, Cochrane, and Embase, were searched for RCTs that were published before February 2018 and that addressed the efficacy and safety of TXA in patients who underwent IF surgery. A total of 746 patients from 7 RCTs were subjected to meta-analysis. The results showed that TXA group had reduced surgical blood loss (weighted mean difference [WMD] = −37.24, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −48.70 to −25.77, P <.00001), reduced total blood loss (WMD = −199.08, 95% CI: −305.16 to −93.01, P = .0002), higher postoperative hemoglobin (WMD = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.79, P = .007), and hematocrit levels (WMD = 1.55, 95% CI: 0.64 to 2.47, P = .008) compared to control group, while no significant differences were found in transfusion rates (relative risk [RR] = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.50 to 1.11, P = .15), postoperative drainage (WMD = −38.82, 95% CI: −86.87 to 9.22, P = .11), and thromboembolic events (RR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.41 to 2.19, P = .89). In patients undergoing IF surgery, the administration of TXA significantly reduced surgical blood loss and total blood loss, while it had no significant effect on transfusion rate, postoperative drainage, and the risk of thromboembolic events. Nevertheless, due to the variations in the included studies, additional RCTs are required to further validate these conclusions.

Hidden blood loss and its influencing factors after percutaneous kyphoplasty surgery: A retrospective study

Percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) surgery is generally accepted as a minimally invasive treatment for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs). However, hidden blood loss (HBL) caused by this procedure is usually disregarded. This study aimed to investigate the amount of HBL and its influencing factors after PKP surgery.A total of 160 patients were retrospectively examined from January 2014 to January 2016, and their clinical and radiological data were recorded and analyzed. Preoperative and postoperative hematocrit (Hct) and hemoglobin (Hb) levels were also documented. HBL was calculated using Gross formula. Different factors, including gender, age, bone mineral density (BMD), number of fracture levels, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, operative time, percentage of vertebral height loss, percentage of vertebral height restoration, and cement leakage, were examined. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to elucidate the related clinical or radiological factors of HBL.A total of 122 patients with 169 levels were eligible for inclusion in the study. The mean HBL was 279 ± 120 mL, and the postoperative Hb loss was 8.2 ± 3.9 g/L. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that HBL was positively associated with operative time (P = .000), percentage of vertebral height loss (P = .037), and percentage of vertebral height restoration (P = .000). By contrast, HBL was not associated with gender (P = .874), age (P = .148), BMD (P = .134), number of fracture levels (P = .079), hypertension (P = .259), diabetes mellitus (P = .495), and cement leakage (P = .975). The postoperative incidence of anemia significantly increased by 39.3% compared with that of the preoperative incidence (χ = 21.432, P = .000).For patients with OVCFs, the amount of HBL after PKP is much larger than that observed perioperatively. Operative time, percentage of vertebral height loss, and percentage of vertebral height restoration are influencing factors of HBL.

Tranexamic acid reduces blood loss in intertrochanteric fractures: A meta-analysis from randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

This meta-analysis aims to assess the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid for reducing blood loss and transfusion requirements in patients with intertrochanteric fractures.

METHODS

We conduct electronic searches of Medline (1966-2017.09), PubMed (1966-2017.09), Embase (1980-2017.09), ScienceDirect (1985-2017.09), and the Cochrane Library. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are included. The quality assessments are performed according to the Cochrane systematic review method. Fixed/random-effect model is used according to the heterogeneity tested by I statistic. Meta-analysis is performed using Stata 11.0 software.

RESULTS

A total of 4 RCTs are retrieved involving 514 participants. The present meta-analysis indicated that there were significant differences between groups in terms of total blood loss (weighted mean differences = -131.49, 95% confidence interval (CI): -163.63 to -99.35, P = .00), hemoglobin decline (weighted mean differences = -0.31, 95% CI, -0.44 to -0.19, P = .00), and transfusion rate (risk differences = -1.11, 95% CI, -0.19 to -0.04, P = .00). In addition, no increased risk of adverse effects was identified in both groups.

CONCLUSION

Local administration of tranexamic acid is associated with a reduced total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, and transfusion requirements in patients with intertrochanteric fractures. High-quality RCTs are still required for further investigation.