Tranexamic acid use in the prehospital environment

a literature review

Abstract

Introduction: Studies demonstrate the efficacy of the use of tranexamic acid (TXA) in hospital environment in the management of bleeding resulting from trauma, however, efficacy in its use in pre-hospital environment is still in discussion. Objectives: Evaluate studies related to the use of TXA in the pre-hospital environment. Methods: The search strategy was based on the research of articles in the PubMed/MedLine and SciELO databases and used as descriptors the terms “tranexamic AND prehospital AND trauma”, in all languages, which resulted in 37 articles after final analysis. Results: The studies analyzed showed a reduction in the mortality rate when TXA is administered within 3 hours of trauma. The military use of TXA is already carried out by some countries with studies that confirm its benefits. No Brazilian studies were found on the subject and no articles were found in which the pediatric class was included. Conclusion: The results of the analyzed research corroborate the efficacy of pre-hospital use of TXA, but some points still need to be analyzed in future research such as the efficacy and safety of pre-hospital use of TXA in children and also its use in the national territory as no articles were found to address these topics. Ongoing study results may further clarify its use.