Efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in elderly patients with intertrochanteric fracture: An updated meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Intertrochanteric fracture (ITF) is a common type of injury, and nearly 30% of ITF patients die in the first 12 mo, especially the elderly with limited activity. Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been widely used in reducing traumatic and surgical bleeding, however, the paucity of studies regarding its use in orthopedic trauma surgery has limited its integration into this field, which may benefit most from TXA. The safety of TXA in this group has not achieved a consensus. AIM: This meta-analysis was designed to investigate the efficacy and safety of TXA in elderly ITF patients undergoing surgery. METHODS: Databases, including Medline and PubMed, were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were published before October 2018 and that addressed the efficacy and safety of TXA in patients who underwent ITF surgery. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials 2010 Statement Checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of each study. Trials without and with heterogeneity were compared by fixed-effects analysis and random-effects analysis, respectively. For each study, odds ratio (OR) and 95%CI and mean differences and 95%CI were calculated for dichotomous and continuous outcomes, respectively. The Power and Sample Size Program software was used to calculate power and sample size. Stability of the results was assessed via sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: A total of 836 patients from eight RCTs were subjected to meta-analysis. TXA treatment compared with the control group significantly reduced postoperative blood loss (95%CI, -20.83 to -7.93 mL, P < 0.0001), hidden blood loss (95%CI, -213.67 to -64.43 mL, P = 0.0003), and total blood loss (95%CI, -332.49 to -23.18 mL, P = 0.02) by weighted mean differences of -14.38, -139.05, and -177.83 mL, respectively. However, no significant difference was observed between groups for analysis of intraoperative blood loss. The meta-analysis also proved that the usage of TXA in ITFs may not significantly increase the incidence of deep venous thrombosis. Allogeneic blood transfusion data showed that significantly fewer patients in the TXA group (42%) required transfusion than the control group (95%CI, 0.36 to 0.69; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: In ITF surgery, intravenous administration of TXA reduces the risk of hidden blood loss and the need for allogeneic transfusion, without increasing thrombotic risk.