Tranexamic AcidDoes Intravenous Tranexamic Acid Reduce Blood Loss During Vaginectomy?

There are many risks for patients undergoing surgery, with blood loss and the risk of resulting anemia and blood transfusion being a common one. Decreasing blood loss with medication can be an important tool in reducing post-operative complications. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an anti-fibrinolytic that inhibits the activation of plasminogen to plasmin. It inhibits the ability of plasminogen to dissolve fibrin networks, thus decreasing bleeding. TXA was shown in a systematic review and meta-analysis by Ker et. al in 2013 to reduce surgical blood loss by an average of 34% with an increased percentage reduction as the amount of bleeding during surgery decreased. This review also showed that a dose of 1g intravenous (IV) was sufficient in most adults with no evidence supporting a higher dose.

Vaginectomy or total colpocleisis is a surgical procedure performed for women experiencing symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse. It is performed in women who have significant vaginal vault prolapse post-hysterectomy and wish an effective treatment but accept the inability of having penetrative vaginal intercourse. It is most often performed in older patients who have multiple co-morbidities that would preclude them from having a more invasive procedure to correct their prolapse, such as an abdominal sacral colpopexy which involves the placement of surgical mesh, is a significantly longer procedure, and has more associated surgical risks.

This study will be a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial looking at whether 1g IV tranexamic acid compared with placebo reduces blood loss in women undergoing vaginectomy.