1.
Efficacy and Safety Profile of Tranexamic Acid in Traumatic Thoracolumbar Fracture Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Vasu ST, Raheja L, Parmar K, Ramachandran S
International journal of spine surgery. 2022
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In this article, the authors systematically evaluated the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid (TXA) in surgeries for spinal trauma. METHODS Potentially relevant academic articles were identified from the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Secondary sources were identified from the references of the included literature. RevMan software was used to analyze the pooled data. RESULTS A total of 7 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 2 non-RCTs were included in the review. There were significant differences in total blood loss (standard mean difference [SMD] = -2.54 [95% CI, -3.72, -1.37], P = 0.0001), intraoperative blood loss (SMD = -0.96 [95% CI, -1.28, -0.64], P < 0.00001), postoperative blood loss (SMD = -1.42 [95% CI, -1.72, -1.11], P < 0.00001), and length of hospital stay (SMD = -3.73 [95% CI, -4.41, -3.06], P = 0.00001). No significant differences were found regarding transfusion requirement, operative duration, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS The present meta-analysis indicates that the use of TXA in spinal surgery decreases blood loss and duration of hospital stay while not increasing the risk of side effects such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The study aims to provide clinicians who operate on spine trauma with information on the use of tranexamic acid to decrease blood loss and related complications.
2.
Therapeutic Application of Fibrinogen in Spine Surgery: A Review Article
Barimani B, Moisan P, Santaguida C, Weber M
International journal of spine surgery. 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND The aim of this review is to investigate current uses of fibrinogen as a tool to reduce operative and postoperative blood loss in different surgical fields especially orthopedic spine surgery. This is a systematic review. METHODS MEDLINE (via Ovid 1946 to June 1, 2020) and Embase (via Ovid 1947 to June 1, 2020) were searched using the keywords "fibrinogen", "surgery", and "spine" for relevant studies. The search strategy used text words and relevant indexing to identify articles discussing the use of fibrinogen to control surgical blood loss. RESULTS The original literature search yielded 407 articles from which 68 duplications were removed. Three hundred thirty-nine abstracts and titles were screened. Results were separated by surgical specialties. CONCLUSIONS Multiple studies have looked at the role of fibrinogen for acute bleeding in the operative setting. The current evidence regarding the use of fibrinogen concentrate in spine surgery is promising but limited, even though this is a field with the potential for severe hemorrhage. Further trials are required to understand the utility of fibrinogen concentrate as a first-line therapy in spine surgery and to understand the importance of target fibrinogen levels and subsequent dosing and administration to allow recommendations to be made in this field.
3.
Safety and efficacy of prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) for anticoagulation reversal in patients undergoing urgent neurosurgical procedures: a systematic review and metaanalysis
Faulkner H, Chakankar S, Mammi M, Lo JYT, Doucette J, Al-Otaibi N, Abboud J, Le A, Mekary RA, Bunevicius A
Neurosurgical review. 2020
Abstract
Anticoagulant therapy poses a significant risk for patients undergoing emergency neurosurgery procedures, necessitating reversal with prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) or fresh frozen plasma (FFP). Data on PCC efficacy lack consistency in this setting. This systematic review and metaanalysis aimed to evaluate efficacy and safety of PCC for anticoagulation reversal in the context of urgent neurosurgery. Articles from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were screened according to the PRISMA checklist. Adult patients receiving anticoagulation reversal with PCC for emergency neurosurgical procedures were included. When available, patients who received FFP were included as a comparison group. Pooled estimates of observational studies were calculated for efficacy and safety outcomes via random-effects modeling. Initial search returned 4505 articles, of which 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. Anticoagulants used included warfarin (83%), rivaroxaban (6.8%), phenprocoumon (6.1%), apixaban (2.2%), and dabigatran (1.5%). The mean International Normalized Ratio (INR) prePCC administration ranged from 2.3 to 11.7, while postPCC administration from 1.1 to 1.4. All-cause mortality at 30 days was 27% (95%CI 21, 34%; I(2) = 44.6%; p-heterogeneity = 0.03) and incidence of thromboembolic events was 6.00% among patients treated with PCC (95%CI 4.00, 10.0%; I(2) = 0%; p-heterogeneity = 0.83). Results comparing PCC and FFP demonstrated no statistically significant differences in INR reversal, mortality, or incidence of thromboembolic events. This metaanalysis demonstrated adequate safety and efficacy for PCC in the reversal of anticoagulation for urgent neurosurgical procedures. There was no significant difference between PCC and FFP, though further trials would be useful in demonstrating the safety and efficacy of PCC in this setting.
