Prophylactic Tranexamic Acid in High-Risk Patients Undergoing Cesarean Delivery: A Systematic Review and...

Scant evidence exists regarding use of tranexamic acid (TXA) in high-risk obstetrics. The aim of this review was to evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic TXA in high-risk patients for postpartum hemorrhage. The review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Only studies examining the effects of TXA compared with placebo in mitigating postpartum hemorrhage were included. The primary outcomes were blood loss intraoperatively and postoperatively. The secondary outcomes were the frequency of additional uterotonic therapy and postoperative hemoglobin concentration. Three trials consisting of 203 patients were included. Compared with placebo, there was a low quality of evidence that TXA may reduce blood loss intraoperatively (mean difference, -361.41; 95% CI, -573.13 to -149.69; P = .0008) and postoperatively (mean difference, -177.95; 95% CI, -296,65 to -59.25; P = .003). We also found a moderate quality of evidence that TXA decreased the number of uterotonic agents used (risk ratio, 0.26; 85% CI, 0.16 to 0.41; P < .00001) but did not affect postoperative hemoglobin level (mean difference, 0.41; 95% CI, -0.08 to 0.90; P = .10). Prophylactic TXA may decrease blood loss and reduce the number of rescue uterotonics in high-risk patients undergoing cesarean delivery.