The effect of tranexamic acid to reduce blood loss and transfusion on off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery: A systematic review and cumulative meta-analysis.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and efficacy of tranexamic acid (TA) on off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery.

DESIGN: Meta-analysis.

SETTING: Operating room, OPCAB surgery, all surgeries were elective measurements. Searching the following data sources respectively: PubMed/MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE and reference lists of identified articles, we performed a meta-analysis of postoperative 24h blood loss, postoperative allogeneic transfusion, re-operation for massive bleeding, postoperative mortality, and postoperative thrombotic complications.

MAIN RESULTS: Using electronic databases, we selected 15 randomized control trials (RCTs), carried out between 2003 and 2016, with a total of 1250 patients for our review. TA significantly reduced the postoperative 24h blood loss (mean difference -213.32ml, 95% confidence intervals, -247.20ml to -179.43ml; P<0.0001). And, TA also significantly reduced the risk of packed red blood cell (PRBCs) transfusion (risk ratio 0.62; 95% confidence intervals 0.51 to 0.76; P<0.0001) and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) transfusion (0.65; 0.52 to 0.81; P<0.001). There were no statistical significance on platelet transfusion (risk difference -0.00, 95% confidence interval -0.02 to 0.02; P=0.73) and re-operation (0.00, -0.02 to 0.02; P=1.00). No association was found between TA and morbility (risk difference -0.00, 95% confidence interval -0.02 to 0.02; P=0.99) and thrombotic complications (-0.01, -0.01 to 0.02; P=0.70).

CONCLUSIONS: TA reduced the probability of receiving a PRBCs and FFP transfusion during OPCAB surgery. And no association with postoperative death and thrombotic events was found. However, further trials with an appropriate sample size are required to confirm TA safety in OPCAB surgery.