A prophylactic TXA administration effectively reduces the risk of intraoperative bleeding during open management of pelvic and acetabular fractures

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of perioperative intravenous TXA in reducing blood loss in pelvic and acetabular fracture patients managed surgically. The study included 306 consecutive patients, divided as: group I, 157 patients who did not receive perioperative infusion of TXA and group II, 149 patients who received perioperative TXA. The perioperative blood test results and complication rates were compared between the two groups. The average perioperative hematocrit was higher during the preoperative period than during the first, second and third postoperative day in both groups. In the estimated blood loss between the two groups, there was a significant difference of 1391 (± 167.49) ml in group I and 725 (± 403.31) ml in group II respectively (p = 0.02). No significant difference was seen in the total of intraoperative transfusion units as well as in the total units of blood transfused. There was a reduced level of postoperative hemoglobin (9.28 ± 17.88 g/dl in group I and 10.06 ± 27.57 g/dl in group II compared to the values obtained in preoperative investigations (10.4 ± 2.37 g/dl in group I and 11.4 ± 2.08 g/dl in group II); with a significant difference in postoperative transfusion rates (p = 0.03). Therefore, the use of TXA effectively reduces the risk of intraoperative bleeding during open management of pelvic and acetabular fractures.