The Effect of Tranexamic Acid on Neurosurgical Intervention in Spontaneous Intracerebral Hematoma: Data From 121 Surgically Treated Participants From the Tranexamic Acid in IntraCerebral Hemorrhage-2 Randomized Controlled Trial

Hollingworth, Milo; Woodhouse, Lisa J.; Law, Zhe K.; Ali, Azlinawati; Krishnan, Kailash; Dineen, Robert A.; Christensen, Hanne; England, Timothy J.; Roffe, Christine; Werring, David; Peters, Nils; Ciccone, Alfonso; Robinson, Thompson; Członkowska, Anna; Bereczki, Dániel; Egea-Guerrero, Juan José; Ozturk, Serefnur; Bath, Philip M.; Sprigg, Nikola

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
An important proportion of patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) undergo neurosurgical intervention to reduce mass effect from large hematomas and control the complications of bleeding, including hematoma expansion and hydrocephalus. The Tranexamic acid (TXA) for hyperacute primary IntraCerebral Hemorrhage (TICH-2) trial demonstrated that tranexamic acid (TXA) reduces the risk of hematoma expansion. We hypothesized that TXA would reduce the frequency of surgery (primary outcome) and improve functional outcome at 90 days in surgically treated patients in the TICH-2 data set.

METHODS:
Participants enrolled in TICH-2 were randomized to placebo or TXA. Participants randomized to either TXA or placebo were analyzed for whether they received neurosurgery within 7 days and their characteristics, outcomes, hematoma volumes (HVs) were compared. Characteristics and outcomes of participants who received surgery were also compared with those who did not.

RESULTS:
Neurosurgery was performed in 5.2% of participants (121/2325), including craniotomy (57%), hematoma drainage (33%), and external ventricular drainage (21%). The number of patients receiving surgery who received TXA vs placebo were similar at 4.9% (57/1153) and 5.5% (64/1163), respectively (odds ratio [OR] 0.893; 95% CI 0.619-1.289; P-value = .545). TXA did not improve outcome compared with placebo in either surgically treated participants (OR 0.79; 95% CI 0.30-2.09; P = .64) or those undergoing hematoma evacuation by drainage or craniotomy (OR 1.19 95% 0.51-2.78; P-value = .69). Postoperative HV was not reduced by TXA (mean difference −8.97 95% CI −23.77, 5.82; P-value = .45).

CONCLUSION:
TXA was not associated with less neurosurgical intervention, reduced HV, or improved outcomes after surgery.

Citation

Hollingworth, M., Woodhouse, L. J., Law, Z. K., Ali, A., Krishnan, K., Dineen, R. A., Christensen, H., England, T. J., Roffe, C., Werring, D., Peters, N., Ciccone, A., Robinson, T., Członkowska, A., Bereczki, D., Egea-Guerrero, J. J., Ozturk, S., Bath, P. M., & Sprigg, N. (2024). The Effect of Tranexamic Acid on Neurosurgical Intervention in Spontaneous Intracerebral Hematoma: Data From 121 Surgically Treated Participants From the Tranexamic Acid in IntraCerebral Hemorrhage-2 Randomized Controlled Trial. Neurosurgery, 95(3), 605-616. https://doi.org/10.1227/neu.0000000000002961

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 28, 2024
• Online Publication Date: May 24, 2024
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jun 17, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 18, 2024
• Journal: Neurosurgery
• Print ISSN: 0148-396X
• Electronic ISSN: 1524-4040
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 95
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 605-616
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1227/neu.0000000000002961
• Keywords: Tranexamic acid; Intracerebral hemorrhage; Neurosurgery; Stroke
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/35160145
• Publisher URL: https://journals.lww.com/neurosurgery/fulltext/9900/the_effect_of_tranexamic_acid_on_neurosurgical.1177.aspx