Tranexamic Acid in Intertrochanteric and Subtrochanteric Femur Fractures

Overview

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of Tranexamic Acid (TXA) on blood loss and need for perioperative blood transfusion following intertrochanteric and subtrochanteric femur fractures. TXA is a antifibrinolytic medication that prevents the breakdown of blood clots by inhibiting the activation of plasminogen to plasmin in the coagulation cascade. Our hypothesis is that by providing TXA at the time of hospital admission it will decrease the amount of preoperative and intraoperative bleeding thereby leading to a decreased need for post-operative transfusion. This a double blinded, placebo controlled, therapeutic trial in which half of patients will be randomized to receive TXA at the time of hospital admission and half of patients will receive a placebo.

Tranexamic Acid has a long and proven history of clinical safety and effectiveness in the Orthopaedic literature. Its use in perioperative blood management in total joint arthroplasty is wide spread and is quickly becoming a standard of care. However, evidence on the effectiveness of TXA in lower extremity fracture care is more limited. There is a logical expectation that the use of TXA in lower extremity fracture care will provide a similar benefit in minimizing blood loss and reducing transfusion requirements, based on TXA's success in total joint arthroplasty, however this has not yet been validated in the literature. This study will seek to evaluate the effectiveness of TXA in perioperative blood management within a subset of lower extremity fracture, specifically intertrochanteric femur fractures. Hip fractures represent a common orthopedic injury in a fragile patient population that often necessitates post-operative blood transfusion thereby putting the patient at additional risk of complications. Intertrochanteric femur fractures have an increased risk of post-operative blood transfusion when compared to femoral neck fractures. It is presumed that the difference in blood loss between these two fracture types is caused by increased pre-operative bleeding of intertrochanteric fractures secondary to the extracapsular nature of the fracture, as opposed to a tamponade effect that occurs with intracapsular femoral neck fractures. It can therefore be expected that the use of TXA in intertrochanteric femur fractures will decrease perioperative bleeding leading to a decrease in total blood loss and a decrease in transfusion rates. Limited research has shown that TXA is effective in reducing perioperative blood loss in hip fracture when compared to placebo, but not as effectively as when used in joint arthroplasty. One explanation for this difference is that TXA is circulating at the time of iatrogenic fracture in total joint arthroplasty or given shortly after, whereas intraoperative TXA administration in hip fractures usually doesn't occur until 6-48 hours after the initial injury. Administering TXA at the time of hospital admission in intertrochanteric femur fracture allows the drug time to decrease blood loss resulting from the fracture as well as the subsequent surgical intervention.