Colorectal liver metastases: Tranexamic acid reduces blood transfusions after hepatectomy

Written By : Medha Baranwal |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2020-07-08T23:45:56+05:30 | Updated On 9 July 2020 4:45 PM IST

Canada: Intraoperative administration of tranexamic acid (TXA) decreases red blood cell transfusions (RBCT) in hepatectomy for colorectal liver metastases (CRLM), according to a recent study in the journal HPB. The study found that TXA led to a 41% reduction in the risk of 30-day receipt of RBCT.

Colorectal cancer is a major health problem and is the third most common cancer in the world. About 65% of all the CRC patients develop distant metastasis, the most common site being the liver (40%) -- colorectal liver metastases. Liver resection remains the most important modality in the treatment of colorectal liver metastases. But, RBCT remain a concern for patients undergoing hepatectomy.

Alisha A. Jaffer, Sunnybrook Research Institute Toronto, ON, Canada, and colleagues examined the effect of TXA, anti-fibrinolytic, on receipt of RBCT in CRLM metastases.

The researchers included hepatectomies for CRLM over 2009–2014. The primary outcome was 30-day receipt of RBCT. A total of 433 patients were included, of which,146 (34%) received TXA.

Key findings of the study include:

TXA patients were more likely to have inflow occlusion (41.8% vs. 23.1%) and major hepatectomies (56.1% vs. 45.6%).
TXA was independently associated with lower risk of RBCT (Relative risk (RR) 0.59), but not with 30-day major morbidity (adjusted RR 1.02) and 90-day mortality (univariable RR 0.99).

"Intraoperative TXA was associated with a 41% reduction in risk of 30 -day receipt of RBCT after hepatectomy for CRLM. This finding is important to potentially improve healthcare resource allocation and patient outcomes. Pending further evidence, intraoperative TXA may be an effective method of reducing RBCT in hepatectomy for CRLM," concluded the authors.

The study, "The impact of tranexamic acid on the administration of red blood cell transfusions for resection of colorectal liver metastases," is published in the journal HPB.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpb.2020.06.004

journal HPBtranexamic acidcolorectal cancerhepatectomy

Source : journal HPB

Medha Baranwal

MSc. Biotechnology

Medha Baranwal joined Medical Dialogues as an Editor in 2018 for Speciality Medical Dialogues. She covers several medical specialties including Cardiac Sciences, Dentistry, Diabetes and Endo, Diagnostics, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurosciences, and Radiology. She has completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Sciences from DU and then pursued Masters in Biotechnology from Amity University. She has a working experience of 5 years in the field of medical research writing, scientific writing, content writing, and content management. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751