Tranexamic Acid for Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infection-Associated Sore Throat Pain: A Randomized Controlled...

Area of Science:

• Clinical Medicine
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Tranexamic acid (TXA) is sometimes used for sore throat relief in acute upper-respiratory tract infections (URTI).
• Robust clinical evidence supporting TXA's efficacy for URTI sore throat is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of tranexamic acid (TXA) compared to placebo for relieving sore throat associated with acute URTI.
• To assess the impact of TXA on sore throat severity using a visual analog scale (VAS).

Main Methods:

• A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 34 patients (18-65 years) with URTI and sore throat.
• Participants received either 1g of 50% TXA or 1g of lactose placebo.
• Primary outcome was the change in the proportion of patients with moderate to severe sore throat within 2 hours; secondary outcome was the change in VAS score.

Main Results:

• No significant difference was observed between the TXA and placebo groups in the proportion of patients experiencing moderate or greater sore throat impact (41.2% vs. 47.1%, p=1.00).
• Mean change in sore throat VAS score within 30 minutes did not significantly differ between groups (TXA 17.3 vs. placebo 13.1, p=0.49).
• No adverse side effects were reported in either group.

Conclusions:

• Tranexamic acid (TXA) demonstrated no significant benefit over placebo in alleviating acute URTI-associated sore throat.
• Further research may be needed to explore potential alternative treatments for URTI sore throat.