Tranexamic Acid for Reduction of Blood Loss in Patients with Extracapsular Proximal Femur Fractures: Systematic...

Background/Objectives: Blood loss is a major concern in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture surgery. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is used to improve bleeding outcomes; however, randomized clinical trials (RCTs) report mixed findings, with some studies finding no improvements. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of intravenous TXA in patients with extracapsular proximal femur fractures undergoing surgery. Methods: A systematic literature review was performed to identify relevant RCTs. Evaluated outcomes were total blood loss (TBL), hidden blood loss (HBL), change in hemoglobin (Hb), change in hematocrit (Hct), risk for transfusion and number of transfused units per patient. Review Manager 5.3 was used. Results: Twenty-five RCTs were included. TXA administration was associated with significant reductions in TBL (MD = -255.59 mL, 95% CI -306.50 to -204.68) and HBL (MD = -219.28 mL, 95% CI -286.93 to -151.62) compared with control. Patients receiving TXA had significantly smaller changes in Hb (MD = 0.65 g/dL, 95% CI 0.39-0.90) and Hct (MD = 4.22%, 95% CI 2.04-6.40). TXA significantly reduced the risk of transfusion (RR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.43-0.70) and number of transfused units per patient (SMD = -0.66, 95% CI -1.15 to -0.17). Subgroup analyses showed consistent effects. Sensitivity analyses confirmed robustness of results, except for the significance in reducing the number of transfused units when studies with 'liberal' transfusion thresholds were excluded. Conclusions: These findings show statistically significant improvements in bleeding outcomes with the use of intravenous TXA in patients with extracapsular proximal femur fractures undergoing surgery. Further high-quality RCTs are needed to standardize TXA timing and dosing.