Preoperative intravenous injection of tranexamic acid combined with postoperative local use of elastic bandage to reduce blood loss for complex tibial plateau fractures: a prospective controlled clinical trial / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To assess the effects of preoperative intravenous injection of tranexamic acid and postoperative local use of elastic bandage on blood loss in complex tibial plateau fractures (Schatzker types Ⅴ-Ⅵ).Methods:A sequence randomly generated by computer was used to randomize a cohort of 40 patients into 2 groups who were to receive surgery at Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Hong Hui Hospital from June 2018 to January 2019 for complex tibial plateau fractures. They were 24 men and 16 women, aged from 35 to 55 years (average, 46.0 years). In group A, intravenous injection of normal saline was conducted 5 to 10 min before surgical incision and no elastic bandage was used after surgery. In group B, a dose of 15 mg/kg tranexamic acid was intravenously given 5 to 10 min before surgical incision and elastic bandage was used to bandage the knee with compression after surgery. The 2 groups were compared in terms of total blood loss, hidden blood loss, transfusion rate, 48-h drainage flow, venous thromboembolism, postoperative wound complications, postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS), and D-dimer value 24 h after surgery.Results:There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in age, gender, body mass index, smoking history, concomitant medical conditions, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, preoperative hemoglobin, preoperative hematocrit, preoperative D-dimerization or fibrin degradation products, showing comparability ( P>0.05). In groups A and B, hemoglobin values 24 h after surgery were 104.6 g/L ± 10.4 g/L versus 113.3 g/L ± 11.9 g/L, drainage volumes 48 h after surgery 277.1 mL ± 229.2 mL versus 207.1 mL ± 124.3 mL, hidden blood loss volumes 318.0 mL ± 83.4 mL versus 266.2 mL ± 60.9 mL, total blood loss volumes 792.8 mL ± 202.8 mL versus 692.2 mL ± 124.9 mL, D-dimer values 24 h after surgery 5.1 mg/L ± 1.3 mg/L versus 4.1 mg/L ± 0.7 mg/L, postoperative VAS scores 5.2 ± 0.9 versus 3.9 ± 1.1, lower limb cross-section diameters 24 h after surgery 35.5 cm ± 3.0 cm versus 34.4 cm ± 2.6 cm, lower limb cross-section diameters 72 h after surgery 33.8 cm ± 2.1 cm versus 32.8 cm ± 2.3 cm, postoperative rates of wound ecchymosis hematoma 20.0% (4 cases) versus 0 (0 cases), and hospital stays 6.6 d ± 1.0 d versus 6.2 d ± 1.2 d. There were significant differences between the 2 groups in all the above items ( P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in incidence of postoperative DVT, pulmonary embolism or other wound complications ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Preoperative intravenous injection of tranexamic acid and postoperative local use of elastic bandage is reasonable and safe for complex tibial plateau fractures, because it significantly reduces intraoperative blood loss but does not increase the risk of venous thromboembolism, and thus has a positive role in accelerating the recovery of patients.