Intravenous Tranexamic Acid Given at Femoral Fragility Fracture Surgery Reduces Blood Transfusion Requirements Fourfold

AIMS: This study aims to determine whether intraoperative intravenous (IV) tranexamic acid (TXA) affects blood loss following the surgical management of femoral fragility fractures (FFF). METHODS: This was a single centre (university teaching hospital) non-randomised case–control study. There were 361 consecutive patients with FFF admitted over a 4-month period were included (mean age 81.4yrs; mean BMI 23.5; 73.7% female). Patient demographics, comorbidities, preoperative anticoagulation use, surgical management, intravenous TXA use, perioperative haemoglobin (Hb) and haematocrit, and requirement for blood transfusion were recorded. The primary outcome was postoperative blood transfusion requirement. Secondary outcomes included postoperative day one calculated blood loss (CBL) (using the Nadler and Gross formulae) and fall in Hb (percentage) from preoperative levels; and the incidence of thrombotic events and mortality up to 30 days. RESULTS: Groups were well matched in terms of patient demographics, comorbidities, preoperative anticoagulation use, injury types and surgical management. Intravenous TXA 1 g given at the beginning of surgery at the discretion of the operating team: 178 (49%) received TXA and 183 (51%) did not. The requirement for postoperative blood transfusion was significantly less in the TXA group: 15/178 (8.4%) compared to 58/183 (31.7%) (p < 0.001; Chi square). TXA significantly reduced both the percentage fall in Hb (mean difference 4.3%, p < 0.001) and the CBL (mean difference −222 ml, p < 0.001). There was no difference in VTE (2 vs 1, p = 0.620) or other thrombotic events (2 vs 0, p = 0.244) between groups. CONCLUSION: 1 g of intraoperative intravenous TXA during the surgical management of FFF was associated with reduced rate of transfusion, CBL and the percentage drop in HB. The use of TXA in this study was not randomised, so there could be un-quantifiable bias in the patient selection.