Prophylactic Use of Antifibrinolytics During Pediatric Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass on Postoperative Bleeding and Transfusion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Department of Pediatrics, New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Samuel J. Wood Library & C.V. Starr Biomedical Information Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY. Wagner College, New York, NY. Arthur S. Keats Division of Pediatric Cardiovascular Anesthesia Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. Weill Cornell Medicine, Division of Pediatric Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, New York, NY.

Pediatric critical care medicine : a journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. 2022
PICO Summary

Population

Children undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, (68 studies, n= 28,735).

Intervention

Intraoperative antifibrinolytics, including tranexamic acid (TXA), aminocaproic acid (EACA), or aprotinin.

Comparison

Placebo.

Outcome

TXA compared with placebo resulted in a mean decrease in chest tube output of 9.1 mL/kg (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 6.0-12.3 mL/kg), platelet requirement of 2.9 mL/kg (95% CI: 0.1-5.8 mL/kg), and plasma requirement of 4.0 mL/kg (95% CI: 0.6-7.2 mL/kg). Aprotinin compared with placebo resulted in a mean decrease in chest tube output of 4.3 mL/kg (2.4-6.2 mL/kg), platelet transfusion of 4.6 mL/kg (95% CI: 0.6-8.6 mL/kg), and plasma transfusion of 7.7 mL/kg (95% CI: 2.1-13.2 mL/kg). EACA compared with placebo resulted in a mean decrease in chest tube output of 9.2 mL/kg (2.3-21.0 mL/kg), red blood cell transfusion of 7.2 mL/kg (95% CI: 2.4-12.1 mL/kg), and platelet transfusion of 10.7 mL/kg (95% CI: 2.9-18.5 mL/kg). Overall, the quality of evidence was moderate.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To determine the effect of intraoperative antifibrinolytics, including tranexamic acid (TXA), aminocaproic acid (EACA), or aprotinin, on bleeding in children undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). DATA SOURCES Relevant articles were systematically searched from Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science to November 15, 2021. STUDY SELECTION Abstracts were screened, and full texts were reviewed using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses reporting guideline. DATA EXTRACTION A standardized data extraction tool was used. DATA SYNTHESIS Sixty-eight studies including 28,735 patients were analyzed. TXA compared with placebo resulted in a mean decrease in chest tube output of 9.1 mL/kg (95% CI, 6.0-12.3 mL/kg), I2 equals to 65.2%, p value of less than 0.001, platelet requirement of 2.9 mL/kg (95% CI, 0.1-5.8 mL/kg), I2=72.5%, p value less than 0.001 and plasma requirement of 4.0 mL/kg (95% CI, 0.6-7.2 mL/kg), I2 equals to 94.5%, p value less than0.001. Aprotinin compared with placebo resulted in a mean decrease in chest tube output of 4.3 mL/kg (2.4-6.2 mL/kg), I2 equals to 66.3%, p value of less than 0.001, platelet transfusion of 4.6 mL/kg (95% CI, 0.6-8.6 mL/kg), I2 equals to 93.6%, p value of less than 0.001, and plasma transfusion of 7.7 mL/kg (95% CI, 2.1-13.2 mL/kg), I2 equals to 95.3%, p value of less than 0.001. EACA compared with placebo resulted in a mean decrease in chest tube output of 9.2 mL/kg (2.3-21.0 mL/kg), I2 equals to 96.4%, p value of less than 0.001, RBC transfusion of 7.2 mL/kg (95% CI, 2.4-12.1 mL/kg), I2 equals to 94.5%, p value equals to 0.002, and platelet transfusion of 10.7 mL/kg (95% CI, 2.9-18.5 mL/kg), I2 equals to 0%, p value of less than 0.001. No statistical difference was observed in chest tube output when TXA was compared with aprotinin. Subgroup analysis of cyanotic patients showed a significant decrease in chest tube output, platelet requirement, and plasma requirement for patients receiving aprotinin. Overall, the quality of evidence was moderate. CONCLUSIONS Antifibrinolytics are effective at decreasing blood loss and blood product requirement in children undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB although the quality of evidence is only moderate.
Study details
Study Design : Systematic Review
Language : eng
Credits : Bibliographic data from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine