Tranexamic Acid for Acute Hemorrhage: When Is Enough Evidence Enough?

[Tranexamic acid for bleeding prophylaxis in orthopedic surgery and trauma-standard or customized therapy?]

The use of tranexamic acid (TXA) is established in the treatment of bleeding, especially of bleeding due to hyperfibrinolysis. In recent years the prophylactic use of TXA in trauma and orthopedic surgery has increased leading to open questions regarding potentially associated risks and a possible classification as off label use. The available literature provides a sound basis for the recommendation that TXA can be used in these indications provided that an individual risk assessment is done in patients with increased risks for thromboembolic complications. Although the prophylactic use of TXA in orthopedic surgery and trauma is not explicitly listed in the product characteristics, it should not be regarded as an off label use.

Effects of Different Applications of Tranexamic Acid on Perioperative Blood Transfusion Rate and Postoperative Pain in Unilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty

INTRODUCTION

The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different applications of tranexamic acid (TXA) on perioperative blood transfusion rate and postoperative pain in unilateral total knee arthroplasty.

METHODS

This prospective study included a total of 102 patients undergoing unilateral total knee arthroplasty in our hospital from November 2017 to October 2019. On the basis of different TXA administration methods, these patients were randomly assigned to a surface treatment group (50 cases were treated with intraoperative spraying and drug-soaked gauze to cover the wound combined with local injection into the articular cavity) and control group (52 cases were given TXA by intravenous drip combined with local injection into the articular cavity) by random number table method. Clinical data were recorded and evaluated in the two groups. A total of five surgeons participated in the study.

RESULTS

In the surface treatment group, the operation time, hospital stay, tourniquet time, and blood transfusion rate were significant lower compared with the control group, and there was no significant difference in the incision length between the two groups. Our results showed that intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage, postoperative blood loss, total blood loss, and the incidence of deep venous thrombosis in the surface treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group. Our results demonstrated that the surface treatment group reported significantly lower degree of pain compared with the control group at 1 day and 3 days after the operation. However, 7 days after the operation, the degree of pain in the surface treatment group did not differ significantly from that in the control group. In addition, the results of blood coagulation indexes showed that the values of prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (Fib), D-dimer (D-D), and hemoglobin (HGB) in the surface treatment group did not differ significantly from those in the control group before the operation (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In terms of applications of TXA, the method of intraoperative spraying and drug-soaked gauze covering the wound combined with local injection into the articular cavity can reduce the amount of bleeding and the rate of blood transfusion, and alleviate the degree of pain with high safety profile.

The efficacy and safety of intravenous tranexamic acid in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A randomized controlled trial protocol

BACKGROUND

The safety and efficacy of intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA) in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction remains controversial. There is an urgent need of studies that efficiently control for confounding, conduct comprehensive and consecutive observation of potential risks of the TXA administration, and investigate its clinical applicability. The purpose of this work is to assess the safety and efficacy of the intravenous TXA in decreasing perioperative blood loss in the patients undergoing ACL reconstruction.

METHODS

This randomized, controlled, prospective research was carried out between January 2017 and January 2018. All the patients and their family members signed the informed consent forms, and this current work was authorized via the ethics committee of Nanjing first hospital (registration No.: NJU1003586). A total of 100 patients were divided randomly into 2 group: the control group (n = 50) and study group (n = 50). The study group receives intravenous TXA administration [1 g] before skin incision. The control group receives equivalent normal saline. Primary outcome measures including blood loss, hemoglobin decline, transfusion rate, C-reactive protein, D-dimer value, fibrinogen, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, international normalized ratio and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were recorded. The measures of secondary outcomes refer to the clinical data involving the range of motion and postoperative pain score. The pain score was quantified by utilizing the 10-cm scale of visual analog. The pain strength was in the range of 0-10, where 0 is totally no pain and 10 represents the most severe pain.

RESULTS

This experiment had strict inclusive criteria and exclusive criteria and a well- regulated intervention.

CONCLUSION

Our results can bring a new perspective on the use of TXA after arthroscopically assisted ACL surgery.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study protocol was registered in Research Registry (researchregistry5798).