Efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in posterior lumbar interbody fusion: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid (TXA) in hemostasis in patients undergoing posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) by meta-analysis. Methods This study was registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (ID: CRD42022354812). The databases PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase were searched for randomized controlled trial (RCT) papers on the use of TXA in patients with PLIF from database establishment to August 2022. Two researchers screened the literature, extracted data, evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies, recorded the authors, sample size, type of study design, and TXA dose of each study, and extracted the intraoperative blood loss, number of blood transfusions, total blood loss, drainage volume, operation time, and incidence of deep venous thrombosis in each study. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software provided by Cochrane Library.Results A total of 14 RCTs with a total of 1681 patients were included in this study, including 836 patients in the TXA group and 845 patients in the control group. The intraoperative blood loss [mean difference (MD) = - 125.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) (- 138.56, - 113.37), P < 0.0001] and less total blood loss [MD = - 204.28, 95% CI (- 227.38,- 181.18), P < 0.00001] in TXA group were lower than the control group. Statistical significance was also observed in postoperative drainage volume [MD = - 115.03, 95% CI (- 123.89, - 106.17), P < 0.00001], operation time [MD = - 8.10, 95% CI (- 14.49, - 1.71), P = 0.01], and blood transfusion rate [odds ratio (OR) = 0.30, 95% CI (0.23, 0.39), P < 0.00001]. However, there was no statistical difference observed in the incidence of deep venous thrombosis [OR = 0.83, 95% CI (0.56, 1.21), P = 0.33]. Conclusion The application of TXA in PLIF can reduce intraoperative blood loss, total blood loss, drainage volume, the incidence of transfusion events, and operation time without increasing the risk of deep venous thrombosis.