1.
The efficacy and safety of anti-fibrinolytic agents in blood management following peri-acetabular osteotomy: A meta-analysis
Wang M, Tan H, Wu Z, Liang Y
Medicine. 2018;97((34)):e11967.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Blood management after peri-acetabular osteotomy (PAO) has become a serious problem. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of antifibrinolytics for blood management after PAO. METHODS PubMed, OVID, Embase, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science were searched up to January, 2018 without restrictions on publication date and language. We also searched the relevant publication sources. The research was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs were included in our study. Weighted mean differences, risk difference, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. We assessed statistical heterogeneity for each outcome with the use of a standard chi-square test and I statistic. The data were extracted by 2 of the co-authors independently and were analyzed by RevMan5.3. Primary outcomes were total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, and transfusion rates. Secondary outcomes were length of a hospital stay and postoperative complications. RESULTS Four studies including 1 RCT and 3 non-RCTs were included in our study. The present meta-analysis indicated that antifibrinolytics was associated with a significant reduction of the total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, transfusion rates, and length of a hospital stay compared with control groups. No significant differences were identified in terms of the incidence of postoperative complications. CONCLUSION Intravenous antifibrinolytics was efficacious in reduction of total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, and length of a hospital stay after PAO without increasing the risk of thromboembolic complications. More high-quality RCTs with long follow-up period were necessary for proper comparisons of the efficacy and safety of antifibrinolytics with placebo.
2.
Efficacy and safety of antifibrinolytic agents in reducing perioperative blood loss and transfusion requirements in scoliosis surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Wang M, Zheng XF, Jiang LS
PLoS ONE [Electronic Resource]. 2015;10((9)):e0137886.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Routine use of antifibrinolytic agents in spine surgery is still an issue of debate. OBJECTIVE To gather scientific evidence for the efficacy and safety of antifibrinolytic agents including aprotinin, tranexamic acid (TXA) and epsilon aminocaproic acid (EACA, traditionally known as Amicar) in reducing perioperative blood loss and transfusion requirements in scoliosis surgery. METHODS We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), retrospective case-control studies, and retrospective cohort studies on the use of antifibrinolytic agents in scoliosis surgery by searching in the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Controlled Trials of papers published from January 1980 through July 2014. Safety of the antifibrinolytic agents was evaluated in all included studies, while efficacy was evaluated in RCTs. RESULTS Eighteen papers with a total of 1,158 patients were eligible for inclusion in this study. Among them, 8 RCTs with 450 patients were included for evaluation of pharmacologic efficacy (1 RCT was excluded because of a lack of standard deviation data). Mean blood loss was reduced in patients with perioperative use of antifibrinolytic agents by 409.25 ml intraoperatively (95% confidence interval [CI], 196.57-621.94 ml), 250.30 ml postoperatively (95% CI, 35.31-465.30), and 601.40 ml overall (95% CI, 306.64-896.16 ml). The mean volume of blood transfusion was reduced by 474.98 ml (95% CI, 195.30-754.67 ml). The transfusion rate was 44.6% (108/242) in the patients with antifibrinolytic agents and 68.3% (142/208) in the patients with placebo. (OR 0.38; 95% CI; 0.25-0.58; P<0.00001, I2 = 9%). All studies were included for evaluation of safety, with a total of 8 adverse events reported overall (4 in the experimental group and 4 in the control group). CONCLUSION The systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that aprotinin, TXA, and EACA all significantly reduced perioperative blood loss and transfusion requirements in scoliosis surgery. There was no evidence that the use of antifibrinolytic agents was a risk factor for adverse events, especially thromboembolism, in scoliosis surgery.