Tranexamic acid for postpartum hemorrhage prevention in vaginal delivery: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Tranexamic acid (TA) has been demonstrated to reduce blood loss and the incidences of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) during caesarean sections. We compared the clinical efficacy of TA administration on vaginal deliveries with recently published papers. METHODS: Electronic databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and Chinese CNKI (Chinese database) and Wanfang were searched through November 2019.The randomized controlled trials were selected between TA and control groups. The relevant studies included four trials with a total of 4579 patients. RESULTS: Patients treated with TA had a reduction in total blood loss (P = .009), lower postoperative blood loss (P < .00001), a reduced number of PPH (P = .02). However, the occurrence of nausea or/and vomiting is higher in the TA group (the incidence of nausea or vomiting [P < .00001], nausea [P < .00001] and vomiting [P < .00001]). CONCLUSION: TA resulted in fewer occurrence rates of PPH, and no significant increase in occurrences of dizziness or photopsia, but higher incidence of vomiting and nausea.