Abstract
Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of tranexamic acid (TA) in reducing blood loss during thoracic aortic surgery (TAS). Method: We recruited 54 patients (24 men and 30 women; age, 71.1±9.9 years) who underwent TAS (excluding patients who underwent combined surgery) from August 2008 to October 2009. The patients were divided into 2 groups: 19 patients who received TA (T group; 11 men and 8 women; age, 70.8±9.7 years) and 35 patients who did not receive TA (N group; 13 men and 22 women; age, 71.3±10.1 years). The T group received 16 mg kg-1/hr-1 of TA intraoperatively. The conditions in the 2 groups were acute aortic dissection (T group, n=10; N group, n=25) and true aneurysm (T group, n=9; N group, n=10). The operative procedures were total arch replacement (T group, n=7; N group, n=12), partial arch replacement (T group, n=5; N group, n=3), and ascending aorta replacement (T group, n=7; N group, n=20). Results: A comparative study of the amount of transfused blood yielded the following findings: red cell concentrate, 1016.8±777.0 ml (T group) vs. 2062.4±1695.1 ml (N group); fresh frozen plasma, 833.7±743.5 ml (T group) vs. 1789.7±1502.3 ml (N group); and platelet concentrate, 263.2±189.2 ml (T group) vs. 537.1±163.2 ml (N group). In all cases, the amount of blood transfused in the T group was significantly less than that in the N group (P<0.05). The presence of thrombotic complications (cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction, etc.) was investigated, but no significant differences were noted between the 2 groups. Conclusion: The use of TA in patients undergoing TAS led to a significant reduction in the amount of blood transfused. Moreover, the use of TA did not increase thrombotic complications.
