The need for blood transfusions in acute burn surgery may be reduced considerably with administration of tranexamic acid (TXA) perioperatively, according to a study published in Burns. Bjoern Bliesener, MD, and colleagues assessed patients admitted to a burn ICU between January 2018 and May 2021 who received TXA prior to their first surgery for wound excision and grafting and matched patients who did not receive TXA in a 1:2 ratio. Among both TXA and control groups, there was a similar distribution of gender (77.9% [TXA] vs 82.7% [control] males), age (51.7±21.3 vs 48.3±17.4) and percentage of total body surface area (TBSA) burned (33.5% [interquartile range (IQR, 34] vs 38.5% [IQR, 30.5]). The TXA group received significantly less red blood cell units intraoperatively (2.5 [IQR, 2.0] vs 4.0 units [IQR, 4.0]) and in total (4.0 [IQR, 3.0] vs 6.0 [IQR, 4.0]). TXA patients received less blood products in general in each period and in total. No significant difference in length of stay or mortality was observed.
