Objectives: To determine whether short-term treatment of patients about to undergo transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) with tranexamic acid (TXA) would be beneficial in reducing the associated blood loss.
Methods: A prospective and randomized trial was conducted with 136 men requiring TURP for obstructive urinary symptoms. The treatment group received 2 g TXA three times daily on the day of, and first day after, the operation.
Results: Short-term TXA treatment significantly reduced the operative blood loss associated with TURP (128 mL versus 250 mL, P = 0.018), and this difference was not a result of the amount of tissue resected between the two groups (16 g versus 16 g, P = 0.415). In addition, TXA treatment reduced the amount of blood loss per gram of resected tissue (8 mL/g versus 13 mL/g, P = 0.020). Furthermore, the volume of irrigating fluid required (15 L versus 18 L, P = 0.004) and operating time (36 minutes versus 48 minutes, P = 0.001) were also reduced. However, TXA treatment did not influence the number of patients requiring a blood transfusion. Six patients in the treatment group (7.2%) and five in the control group (6.8%) required a transfusion (P = 0.709). Moreover, TXA treatment did not affect the duration of catheterization (1 day versus 1 day, P = 0.342) or hospitalization (3 days versus 3 days, P = 0.218).
Conclusions: Short-term TXA treatment is effective in reducing the operative blood loss associated with TURP.