Predicting blood loss and transfusion requirement in patients undergoing surgery for musculoskeletal tumors

Tranexamic acid use in sarcoma surgery patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Perioperative bleeding increases morbidity and mortality in sarcoma patients. Tranexamic acid (TXA), an antifibrinolytic, is widely utilized in non-sarcoma orthopaedic surgeries, but its adoption in sarcoma surgery is hindered by concerns about thrombotic events.

METHODS

Searches in Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were performed without date restrictions. Inclusion criteria encompassed sarcoma patients undergoing surgery with TXA intervention. Two authors independently screened studies, resolved conflicts, and assessed biases.

RESULTS

Eight studies met inclusion criteria, comprising 2142 patients. TXA administration varied in dose and timing across studies. Meta-analysis revealed significantly reduced mean blood loss with TXA of -462.5 mL ([95% confidence interval [CI: -596.7, -328.31], p < 0.001) but no difference in transfusion rates (odds ratio [OR] = 0.51 [95% CI: 0.14-1.89]) or venous thromboembolism events (OR = 0.93 [95% CI: 0.40, 2.16]). Study biases were predominantly moderate to high due to retrospective designs and lack of control for confounders. Quality of reporting varied, with limitations identified in outcome reporting and effect size estimation.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite evidence of reduced blood loss, the absence of prospective studies limits conclusive recommendations on TXA use in sarcoma surgery. Further research is warranted to determine optimal TXA regimens and assess safety concerns regarding thrombotic events in this patient population.

Systematic review highlights high risk of bias of clinical prediction models for blood transfusion in patients undergoing elective surgery

BACKGROUND

Blood transfusion can be a lifesaving intervention after perioperative blood loss. Many prediction models have been developed to identify patients most likely to require blood transfusion during elective surgery, but it is unclear whether any are suitable for clinical practice.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

We conducted a systematic review, searching MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Transfusion Evidence Library, Scopus, and Web of Science databases for studies reporting the development or validation of a blood transfusion prediction model in elective surgery patients between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2021. We extracted study characteristics, discrimination performance (c-statistics) of final models, and data, which we used to perform risk of bias assessment using the Prediction model risk of bias assessment tool (PROBAST).

RESULTS

We reviewed 66 studies (72 developed and 48 externally validated models). Pooled c-statistics of externally validated models ranged from 0.67 to 0.78. Most developed and validated models were at high risk of bias due to handling of predictors, validation methods, and too small sample sizes.

CONCLUSION

Most blood transfusion prediction models are at high risk of bias and suffer from poor reporting and methodological quality, which must be addressed before they can be safely used in clinical practice.

Optimization of the preoperative requirements of blood units for the surgical treatment of extra-abdominal soft tissue sarcoma: the TRANSAR score

Background and objectives

Excessive preoperative blood orders frequently occur during the preoperative planning of resections of sarcomas. We aimed to develop a prediction score model that would be able to identify a patient cohort in which the cross-matching could be safely evaded.

Patients and methods

We retrospectively analyzed data of 309 consecutive patients with extra-abdominal soft tissue sarcomas treated between September 2012 and December 2014. Scorecard scores for variables were calculated and summarized to a total score that can be used for risk stratification. The score was used in a logistic regression model. Results of the optimized model were described as a receiver operating characteristic curve.

Results

Preoperative units of red blood cells were requested for 206 (66.7%) patients, of which only 31 (10%) received them. Five parameters were identified with high predictive power. In the visualized barplot, there was an increased risk of blood transfusion with a higher score of TRANSAR.

Conclusion

A TRANSAR score is a new tool that can predict the probability of transfusion for patients with sarcoma. This may reduce the number of preoperative cross-matching and blood product ordering and associated costs without compromising patient care.

Efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in patients undergoing surgery for bone and soft tissue tumors: a propensity score matching analysis

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in patients undergoing surgery for bone and soft tissue tumors.

Methods

Data were retrospectively collected from 454 consecutive patients with bone and soft tissue tumors who underwent open biopsy, marginal resection, curettage or wide resection between January 2017 and December 2018. We performed propensity score matching of patients who received tranexamic acid with those who did not. The primary outcome variables were intra-operative, peri-operative and estimated blood loss (IBL, PBL and EBL, respectively).

Results

Tranexamic acid (+) and tranexamic acid (−) groups were defined according to whether patients received tranexamic acid or not. Among the 454 patients, open biopsy was performed in 102, marginal resection in 175, curettage in 54 and wide resection in 123. Intra-operative blood loss was significantly lower in the tranexamic acid (+) group than in the tranexamic acid (−) group for both marginal and wide resection (marginal resection: 17.3 vs. 70.3 g, respectively, P = 0.045; wide resection: 128.8 vs. 273.1 g, respectively, P = 0.023). Peri-operative blood loss and estimated blood loss were also significantly lower in the tranexamic acid (+) group for wide resection (peri-operative blood loss: 341.5 vs. 686.5 g, respectively, P = 0.0039; estimated blood loss: 320.7 vs. 550.6 ml, respectively, P = 0.030). No venous thromboembolism occurred in either group.

Conclusion

This study suggests that TXA administration safely and effectively reduces blood loss, in particular for wide resection, with no increase in the rate of adverse events.

Clinical-Deep Neural Network and Clinical-Radiomics Nomograms for Predicting the Intraoperative Massive Blood Loss of Pelvic and Sacral Tumors

Background

Patients with pelvic and sacral tumors are prone to massive blood loss (MBL) during surgery, which may endanger their lives.

Purposes

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of using deep neural network (DNN) and radiomics nomogram (RN) based on 3D computed tomography (CT) features and clinical characteristics to predict the intraoperative MBL of pelvic and sacral tumors.

Materials and Methods

This single-center retrospective analysis included 810 patients with pelvic and sacral tumors. 1316 CT and CT enhanced radiomics features were extracted. RN1 and RN2 were constructed by random grouping and time node grouping, respectively. The DNN models were constructed for comparison with RN. Clinical factors associated with the MBL were also evaluated. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and accuracy (ACC) were used to evaluate different models.

Results

Radscore, tumor type, tumor location, and sex were significant predictors of the MBL of pelvic and sacral tumors (P < 0.05), of which radscore (OR, ranging from 2.109 to 4.706, P < 0.001) was the most important. The clinical-DNN and clinical-RN performed better than DNN and RN. The best-performing clinical-DNN model based on CT features exhibited an AUC of 0.92 and an ACC of 0.97 in the training set, and an AUC of 0.92 and an ACC of 0.75 in the validation set.

Conclusions

The clinical-DNN and clinical-RN had good performance in predicting the MBL of pelvic and sacral tumors, which could be used for clinical decision-making.

A Useful Model for Predicting Intraoperative Blood Loss in Metastatic Spine Tumor Surgery

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective study was performed.

OBJECTIVE

As predictors of intraoperative blood loss have not yet been well defined, the objective of the present study is to develop a model to predict the amount of intraoperative blood loss in metastatic spine tumor surgery.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Massive blood loss is a huge challenge in metastatic spine tumor surgery. Misjudgment of intraoperative blood loss in preoperative planning may result in disastrous consequences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Enrolled in this retrospective analysis were 392 patients who received 423 surgeries of vertebrectomy and reconstruction in our hospital between 2011 and 2017. Risk factors for high-volume blood loss were identified by univariate and multivariate linear regression. The optimal regression model was selected to predict the amount of intraoperative blood loss. Correlation analysis between predicted and actual blood loss in the test cohort was performed to verify the performance of the new model.

RESULTS

The overall mean blood loss was 1756±1218 mL, with spinal metastases from thyroid cancer most prominent, followed by renal cancer. The model was developed based on 5 independent risk factors influencing intraoperative blood loss: primary tumor, tumor site, level of instrumentation, level of vertebrectomy, and resection method. In the test cohort, the correlation coefficient (r) between predicted and actual blood loss was 0.606.

CONCLUSIONS

This study presented a relatively reliable method to predict the amount of intraoperative blood loss in metastatic spine tumor surgery, which may help surgeons address blood loss-related issues in preoperative planning.

The effect of protamine dosing variation on bleeding and transfusion after heparinisation for cardiopulmonary bypass

INTRODUCTION

Accurate dosing of protamine reversal following on-pump cardiac surgical procedures is challenging, with both excessive and inadequate administration recognised to increase bleeding risk. We aimed to examine the relationship between three ratios for heparin reversal and markers of haemostasis.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database was undertaken at a single tertiary cardiac unit, reviewing all cases of on-pump coronary artery bypass grafts and single valve replacements from 01/01/2011 to 31/12/2015. The ratio between total intra-operative heparin and protamine was stratified to three groups (low: ≤0.6 mg per 100 IU of heparin, moderate: 0.6-1.0 and high: >1.0) and related to the primary outcome of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, with secondary outcomes being the number of units transfused, the haemoglobin differential and mediastinal drain output at 4 hours.

RESULTS

Of the 803 patients identified, 338 received a blood transfusion, with 1035 units being used. Eighteen percent of individuals (145) received a low ratio, 50% (404) received a moderate ratio and 32% (254) a high ratio. Using the moderate group as a reference, the low dose group was 56.5% less likely to have received a RBC transfusion (OR 0.435; 95% CI 0.270:0.703 p=0.001) while the high dose group carried a 241% increased association with transfusion (OR 3.412; 95% CI 2.399:4.853 p<0.001). For those transfused, a lower protamine:heparin ratio was associated with a lower number of units transfused, lesser haemoglobin differential and less mediastinal drain output.

CONCLUSION

Higher doses of intra-operative protamine relative to heparin are associated with greater risk of transfusion and post-operative bleeding.

Preoperative evaluation of intraoperative blood loss during malignant soft tissue tumor resection by ultrasonography

BACKGROUND

Preoperative evaluation of the risk of surgery-related blood loss in malignant soft tissue tumor resection is difficult because of wide variations in histological subtype, malignancy, location, and size. Ultrasonography is useful for the evaluation of blood flow around a soft tissue tumor and has the potential to preoperatively estimate intraoperative blood loss in tumor resection. To date, there has been no report regarding blood loss evaluation using ultrasonography in this field.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The usefulness of information obtained by ultrasonography, including tumor size, vessel density in the tumor, and blood flow volume in the vessels, was analyzed for the prediction of intraoperative blood loss in malignant soft tissue tumor resection.

RESULTS

Vessel density in the tumor and blood flow in the vessels were identified as independent risk factors for blood loss. Using these factors, a new index for the prediction of blood loss was established. Receiver operating characteristic analyses revealed a high area under the curve value (0.80), confirming the accuracy of the index for the prediction of blood loss.

CONCLUSION

Ultrasonography is a useful modality for predicting intraoperative blood loss in malignant soft tissue tumor surgery.

Preoperative evaluation of renal cell carcinoma patients with bone metastases on risks for blood loss, performance status and lethal event

BACKGROUND

Surgical treatment for renal cell carcinoma metastases can be an effective modality for improving survival and patients' quality of life. However, it is often difficult to decide on the optimal surgical approach due to the lesion's high vascularity and uncertainty regarding postoperative performance status and survival.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Blood loss, postoperative performance status, overall survival, postoperative complication and related risk factors for surgical treatment were analysed in 61 renal cell carcinoma patients with bone metastases.

RESULTS

Pelvic location and impending/pathological fracture in the metastatic lesion were both significant risk factors for increased blood loss. An unresectable primary lesion and poor preoperative performance status were independent risk factors for poor postoperative performance status. A shorter duration from the discovery of primary lesion to bone metastasis, the number of metastases, and unresectable primary lesion were independent risk factors for shorter survival. Postoperative complications were identified in 15 cases (24.6%).

CONCLUSION

The preoperative prediction of intraoperative blood loss, performance status and survival in renal cell carcinoma patients with bone metastases may be possible based on the risk factors identified in this study.

Surgical Treatment of Sacral Neurogenic Tumor: A 10-year Experience with 64 Cases

OBJECTIVE

To explore the outcomes of surgical treatment of sacral neurogenic tumors

METHODS

Between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2012, data on 64 patients with sacral neurogenic tumors treated with surgery were retrospectively analyzed. The mean age of the 64 cases (35 males and 29 females) was 37.2 years (range, 21-69 years); 38 had neurilemmomas and 26 neurofibromas. Thirty-four of the tumors involved S 1 and S 2 , 11 S 3 or lower, and 19 were single presacral soft tissue masses. Tumors were removed via anterior, posterior or combined anteroposterior approaches. Patients with unstable sacroiliac joints underwent iliolumbar fixation.

RESULTS

Depending on the extent of tumor involvement, one of three surgical approaches was used: a single anterior approach (19 patients), single posterior approach (25 patients), or a combined anteroposterior approach (20 patients). The mean operation time was 3 h (range, 2-6 h) and the mean blood loss 878 mL (range, 400-3120 mL). The mean duration of follow-up was 58.2 months (range, 24-93 months). These surgeries had the following complications. Three patients had massive intraoperative hemorrhage and posterior back pain and discomfort postoperatively. One patient had intraoperative ureteral injuries requiring intraoperative ureteral catheterization. In two patients, the tumor involved the S 1 nerve roots bilaterally, necessitating their removal, which resulted in obvious lower limb motion and sphincteric dysfunction. In 13 patients with unilateral tumor involvement of the nerve roots of S 1 and lower spinal levels, only the contralateral nerve roots of the S1 and lower levels were preserved; eight of these patients had impaired bladder and bowel function. Posterior incisions failed to heal in 10 patients, secondary wound healing occurred in nine of them and one required a gluteus maximus myocutaneous flap. Three patients developed postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leaks that were and alleviated by waist belt compression bandaging and placing them in the Trendelenburg position. Eight patients developed tumor recurrences postoperatively; pathological examination of the tissue excised in the second surgeries revealed malignant changes in the three patients with neurilemmomas. There were no intraoperative deaths. Rod fractures occurred in three of the 18 patients requiring iliolumbar reconstruction.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical characteristics of sacral neurogenic tumors make them easy to diagnose. The approach to resection should be determined by the location and size of the tumor. Patients with huge tumors may lose considerable blood intraoperatively and a have higher risk rate of postoperative complications.