The Impact of Pre-Hospital TXA on Mortality among Bleeding Trauma Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Centre for Trauma Science, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University, London, United Kingdom Emergency Medical Services Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery. 2021
PICO Summary

Population

Trauma patients with bleeding (4 studies, n= 2,347).

Intervention

Prehospital tranexamic acid (TXA, n= 1,169).

Comparison

No TXA (n= 1,178).

Outcome

There was a significant reduction in 24 hour mortality with pre-hospital TXA; (Odds ratios (OR) 0.60.) There were no statistically significant differences in 28 to 30 day mortality (OR 0.69), or VTE (OR 1.49).
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic drug associated with improved survival among trauma patients with haemorrhage. TXA is considered a primary haemostatic intervention in pre-hospital for treatment of bleeding alongside blood product transfusion. METHODS A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis was conducted to investigate the impact of pre-hospital TXA on mortality among trauma patients with bleeding. A systematic search was conducted using the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Healthcare Databases Advanced Search (HDAS) library which contain the following of databases: EMBASE, Medline, PubMed, BNI, EMCARE, and HMIC. Other databases searched included SCOPUS and the Cochrane Central Register for Clinical Trials Library (CENTRAL). Quality assessment tools were applied among included studies; Cochrane Risk of Bias (ROB) for Randomised Control Trials RCTs and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for cohort observational studies. RESULTS A total of 797 publications were identified from the initial database search. After removing duplicates and applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, Four studies were included in the review and meta-analysis which identified a significant survival benefit in patients who received pre-hospital TXA vs no TXA. Three observational cohort and one RCT were included into the review with a total of 2347 patients (TXA: 1169 vs No TXA: 1178). There was a significant reduction in 24 hours mortality; Odds ratios (OR) 0.60 (95% CI: 0.37-0.99). No Statistical significant differences in 28 to 30 days mortality OR 0.69 (95% CI: 0.47-1.02), or VTE OR 1.49 (95% CI: 0.90 - 2.46) were found. CONCLUSION This review demonstrates that pre-hospital TXA is associated with significant reductions in the early (24 hour) mortality of trauma patients with suspected or confirmed haemorrhage but no increase in the incidence of VTE. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE (I) Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Study details
Study Design : Systematic Review
Language : eng
Credits : Bibliographic data from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine