Tranexamic acid reduce hidden blood loss in posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) surgery

BACKGROUND: Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) surgery is associated with significant blood loss; however, few studies have focused on hidden blood loss (HBL) in PLIF or its regulatory factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the HBL in PLIF surgery as well as the influence of tranexamic acid (TXA) on blood loss in PLIF. METHODS: We performed a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and recruited patients undergoing PLIF into the study from November 2013 to April 2017. All participants were assigned to one of 2 groups according to a simple equal probability randomization scheme. At the end of PLIF surgery, for patients in the TXA group, the surgical field was immersed in TXA (1 g in 100 mL of saline solution) for 5 min before stitching the wound. For the control group, the surgical field was immersed in the same volume of normal saline. RESULTS: In our study, the drainage volume during the first 24 h and the total postoperative drainage volume were significantly lower in patients in the TXA group than in the control group (P = .001). The hematocrit (Hct) of the drainage and calculation of blood contained in the drainage showed similar results. The mean length of hospital stay and rate of blood transfusion in the TXA group were less than those in the control group (P < .05). HBL was responsible for 45.6% of the total blood loss in PLIF, and both of the indicators in the TXA group were much lower than those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: PLIF is associated with massive perioperative HBL, but the application of topical TXA leads to less postoperative blood loss including less HBL, a lower blood product transfusion rate, and a shorter hospital stay for PLIF.