The use of tranexamic acid in paediatric adenotonsillectomy – A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (AT) are two of the most commonly performed ENT procedures in children, with over 500,000 cases performed annually in the United States. Whilst generally considered a safe and well-tolerated operation, it is not without its risks and complications including pain, nausea, anorexia and most importantly bleeding and post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage (PTH). Whilst tranexamic acid (TXA) has a proven benefit in reducing bleeding and transfusion requirements in patients undergoing trauma, spinal and cardiac surgery; the effectiveness, timing and safety of its application in paediatric tonsillectomy has not yet been established.

Aims, objectives & significance

To date, there has been no published systematic review of the literature specifically looking at paediatric patients undergoing AT, despite a massive surge in popularity of the use of TXA perioperatively. The aim of this study is therefore to systematically review the current literature and collate evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of using TXA to reduce bleeding in children undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy.

Methods

A structured search of bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL) was undertaken to retrieve randomised controlled trials, non-randomised case-control studies and ongoing clinical trials that describe the use of TXA in paediatric patients undergoing AT. The following search terms (and their variations) were used as both medical subject headings (MeSH terms) and text words: tranexamic acid, bleeding, tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, paediatrics. To ensure that all relevant data was captured, the search did not contain any restrictions on language or publication time. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment was performed independently and in duplicate.

Results

This review identified and included a total of eight studies (n = 1315). Five studies reported on the intravenous use of TXA (n = 531) whilst three studies reported on the topical use of TXA (n = 784), and these were analysed separately. The intravenous use of TXA did not reduce intraoperative blood loss significantly (95 % CI: −0.1 to 0.33 p = 0.28) and there was not enough information to analyse the effect on PTH in these studies. Topical TXA led to a significant reduction in both intraoperative blood loss (95 % CI 0.11 to 5.31, p = 0.04) and post operative bleeding rates (RR 0.04, 95 % CI 0.01 to 0.08, P = 0.02).

Conclusion

The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that TXA administered via the intravenous route does not reduce perioperative bleeding associated with AT in paediatric patients. However, when topical TXA is used intraoperatively at the surgical site in paediatric patients undergoing adenoidectomy alone, there was a significant reduction in both intraoperative blood loss and post operative bleeding. TXA appears to be a safe and well-tolerated drug in the paediatric population with no adverse effects reported in this review. Nevertheless, further large and well-designed randomised controlled trials are needed to investigate the risks and benefits of TXA in paediatric AT with a particular focus on its use topically and in association with newly developed surgical equipment.