Object: By pursuing a policy of very early aneurysm treatment in neurosurgical centers, in-hospital rebleeds can be virtually eliminated. Nonetheless, as many as 15% of patients with aneurysm rupture suffer ultraearly rebleeding with high mortality rates, and these individuals are beyond the reach of even the most ambitious protocol for diagnosis and referral. Only drugs given immediately after the diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) has been established at the local hospital level can, in theory, contribute to the minimization of such ultraearly rebleeding. The object of this randomized, prospective, multicenter study was to assess the efficacy of short-term antifibrinolytic treatment with tranexamic acid in preventing rebleeding.
Methods: Only patients suffering SAH verified on computerized tomography (CT) scans within 48 hours prior to the first hospital admission were included. A 1-g dose of tranexamic acid was given intravenously as soon as diagnosis of SAH had been verified in the local hospitals (before the patients were transported), followed by doses of 1 g every 6 hours until the aneurysm was occluded; this treatment did not exceed 72 hours. In this study, 254 patients received tranexamic acid and 251 patients were randomized as controls. Age, sex, Hunt and Hess and Fisher grade distributions, as well as aneurysm locations, were congruent between the groups. Outcome was assessed at 6 months post-SAH by using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Vasospasm and delayed ischemic neurological deficits were classified according to clinical findings as well as by transcranial Doppler (TCD) studies. All events classified as rebleeding were verified on CT scans or during surgery.
Conclusions: More than 90% of patients reached the neurosurgical center within 12 hours of their first hospital admission after SAH; 70% of all aneurysms were clipped or coils were inserted within 24 hours of the first hospital admission. Given the protocol, only one rebleed occurred later than 24 hours after the first hospital admission. Despite this strong emphasis on early intervention, however, a cluster of 27 very early rebleeds still occurred in the control group within hours of randomization into the study, and 13 of these patients died. In the tranexamic acid group, six patients rebled and two died. A reduction in the rebleeding rate from 10.8 to 2.4% and an 80% reduction in the mortality rate from early rebleeding with tranexamic acid treatment can therefore be inferred. Favorable outcome according to the GOS increased from 70.5 to 74.8%. According to TCD measurements and clinical findings, there were no indications of increased risk of either ischemic clinical manifestations or vasospasm that could be linked to tranexamic acid treatment. Neurosurgical guidelines for aneurysm rupture should extend also into the preneurosurgical phase to guarantee protection from ultraearly rebleeds. Currently available antifibrinolytic drugs can provide such protection, and at low cost. The number of potentially saved lives exceeds those lost to vasospasm.