Tranexamic Acid Lowers Post-Op Blood Loss in Neck Surgery

Reduced perioperative bleeding following cervical laminoplasty limits total surgery blood loss

MONDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Tranexamic acid (TXA) used in cervical laminoplasty significantly reduces perioperative blood loss, mainly through reduced postoperative bleeding, according to a study published online Feb. 1 in Spine.

Takahiro Tsutsumimoto, M.D., Ph.D., from Yodakubo Hospital in Nagano, Japan, and colleagues evaluated the effect of TXA on perioperative blood loss in 40 patients who underwent cervical laminoplasty. Patients with cervical compressive myelopathy were randomly assigned to receive 15 mg/kg body weight of TXA or a placebo before undergoing the same laminoplasty procedure. There were no statistical differences between the two groups in terms of age, gender, body mass index, or operating time.

The investigators found that there was no significant difference between intraoperative blood loss in the TXA group compared to the placebo group. Postoperative blood loss in the first 16 hours decreased by 37 percent in the TXA group compared to the control group. There was significantly less total blood loss during the first 40 hours after surgery in the TXA group compared to the control group. Both groups were free of thromboembolic events or complications.

"Prophylactic administration of TXA may be beneficial in extensive spinal surgery that could result in considerable perioperative blood loss," the authors write.

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