Clinical trial NCT02063035: Effectiveness Study of the Drug Tranexamic Acid to Reduce Post-surgery Blood Loss in Spinal Surgery
Official title: Topical Application of Tranexamic Acid to Reduce Postoperative Blood Loss in Posterior Approach Spinal Surgery
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE4
Conditions: Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Thoracic Spinal Stenosis
Keywords: lumbar spine surgery
thoracic spine surgery
Lead sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2014-02-14
Enrollment: 29
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 85
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: Hypothesis: Topical application of Tranexamic acid into the surgical wound during spine surgery will decrease the overall blood loss post-operatively. This reduction in blood loss will reduce the need for transfusion. In addition it will also significantly reduce the cost of the surgical procedure.

Specific Aim 1: The goal of this study is to quantitatively assess whether topical application of tranexamic acid placed into the surgical wound during lumbar spine surgery will decrease post-operative blood loss, thus lowering the need for blood transfusions. By reducing the number of transfusions participants can avoid the well-known complications associated with them. The investigators do not plan on measuring serum tranexamic acid levels.

Several meta-analyses and level I studies have shown that intravenous (IV) administration of tranexamic acid is effective in reducing postoperative blood loss and the need for transfusion.

Detailed description: Tranexamic acid, an antifibrinolytic agent, has been studied at great length across a myriad of medical specialties to reduce blood lost during these surgeries. Topical tranexamic acid administration reduces postoperative blood loss and proved safe in multiple types of surgeries -e.g. cardiothoracic, oral and maxillofacial, eye, ear and throat.(References: Fawzy and others \[et al\], Wong et al, Zufferey et al, Wang et al, Ipema et al).

Intravenous tranexamic acid administration has been shown to reduce postoperative blood loss and transfusion need in patients undergoing spinal surgery (Reference: Elwatidy et al). Some advocates have suggested that topical (i.e. local) administration might be preferred over intravenous application. Topical administration of tranexamic acid has some potential advantages as it leads to lower systemic absorption, and offers less concern over the risk of thromboembolic complications (References: Wong et al, Raveendran et al).

While systemic (intravenous) use of tranexamic acid has been studied in spine surgery, there has been little studied to show its effectiveness at reducing blood loss when used topically.

This study proposes to determine if the topical application of tranexamic acid into the surgical wound of posterior multi-level lumbar spine surgery will decrease postoperative blood loss, thus decreasing the need for potential transfusions. Tranexamic acid has been well documented for its safety and efficacy, the investigators believe that this agent will become an important tool to reduce the blood loss in spinal surgeries. It offers a reduction in blood loss and, ultimately, a decrease in the transfusion rates which pose risks to the subject and significant cost.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 18-85 years, both male and female
* Undergoing elective multi-level spinal surgery with a posterior approach to the thoracolumbar spine.
* Negative pregnancy test

Exclusion Criteria:

* Allergy to tranexamic acid
* Preoperative anemia (Hemoglobin \<11 grams per deciliter \[g/dL\] )
* Coagulopathy (preoperative platelet count \<150,000, International Normalized Ratio \>1.4, or Partial Thromboplastin Time \> 1.5 times normal)
* History of deep vein thrombosis, stroke, or pulmonary embolism
* Pregnant or breast feeding
* Liver function tests 2 times the upper limit of normal, and those with creatine greater than 1.6 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL)
* Infection
* Revision procedure in which the only procedure is removing instrumentation
* Renal impairment
* Dural tear

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in Hemoglobin Level From Preoperative Appointment to Postoperative Hospital Discharge
timeFrame: From preoperative appointment approximately one week before surgery to end of hospital stay up to approximately 5 days after surgery
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Blood Loss Volume Following Surgery
timeFrame: From end of surgery on Day 1 to end of hospital stay up to approximately 5 days
measure: Hospital Length of Stay in Days
timeFrame: From end of surgery on Day 1 to end of hospital stay up to approximately 2 weeks
measure: Post-operative Blood Transfusions During Hospitalization
timeFrame: From end of surgery on Day 1 to end of hospital stay up to approximately 5 days
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Boston
country: United States
facility: Massachusetts General Hospital Orthopedic Spine
state: Massachusetts
Study officials:
affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital
name: Kirkham B Wood, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Fawzy H, Elmistekawy E, Bonneau D, Latter D, Errett L. Can local application of Tranexamic acid reduce post-coronary bypass surgery blood loss? A randomized controlled trial. J Cardiothorac Surg. 2009 Jun 18;4:25. doi: 10.1186/1749-8090-4-25.
citation: Gill JB, Chin Y, Levin A, Feng D. The use of antifibrinolytic agents in spine surgery. A meta-analysis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2008 Nov;90(11):2399-407. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.G.01179.
citation: Thompson GH, Florentino-Pineda I, Poe-Kochert C. The role of amicar in decreasing perioperative blood loss in idiopathic scoliosis. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2005 Sep 1;30(17 Suppl):S94-9. doi: 10.1097/01.brs.0000175188.05542.a9.
citation: Hynes MC, Calder P, Rosenfeld P, Scott G. The use of tranexamic acid to reduce blood loss during total hip arthroplasty: an observational study. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2005 Mar;87(2):99-101. doi: 10.1308/147870805X28118.
citation: Elwatidy S, Jamjoom Z, Elgamal E, Zakaria A, Turkistani A, El-Dawlatly A. Efficacy and safety of prophylactic large dose of tranexamic acid in spine surgery: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2008 Nov 15;33(24):2577-80. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e318188b9c5.
citation: Wong J, Abrishami A, El Beheiry H, Mahomed NN, Roderick Davey J, Gandhi R, Syed KA, Muhammad Ovais Hasan S, De Silva Y, Chung F. Topical application of tranexamic acid reduces postoperative blood loss in total knee arthroplasty: a randomized, controlled trial. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2010 Nov 3;92(15):2503-13. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.I.01518.
citation: Raveendran R, Wong J. Tranexamic acid reduces blood transfusion in surgical patients while its effects on thromboembolic events and mortality are uncertain. Evid Based Med. 2013 Apr;18(2):65-6. doi: 10.1136/eb-2012-100872. Epub 2012 Aug 4. No abstract available.
citation: Zufferey P, Merquiol F, Laporte S, Decousus H, Mismetti P, Auboyer C, Samama CM, Molliex S. Do antifibrinolytics reduce allogeneic blood transfusion in orthopedic surgery? Anesthesiology. 2006 Nov;105(5):1034-46. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200611000-00026.
citation: Wang H, Shen B, Zeng Y. Comparison of topical versus intravenous tranexamic acid in primary total knee arthroplasty: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled and prospective cohort trials. Knee. 2014 Dec;21(6):987-93. doi: 10.1016/j.knee.2014.09.010. Epub 2014 Oct 23.
citation: Ipema HJ, Tanzi MG. Use of topical tranexamic acid or aminocaproic acid to prevent bleeding after major surgical procedures. Ann Pharmacother. 2012 Jan;46(1):97-107. doi: 10.1345/aph.1Q383. Epub 2011 Dec 27.