Background: A previous report suggested that functional status does not differ between patients who received tranexamic acid and those who received placebo within the early hours of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Our pilot study tested the hypothesis that 2 weeks administration of tranexamic acid would contribute to functional improvement.
Methods: Consecutive patients with ICH were administered 250 mg tranexamic acid 3 times a day continuously for 2 weeks. We also enrolled historical control consecutive patients. We collected clinical data that involved hematoma size, level of consciousness, and Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores.
Results: Univariate analysis showed that the mRS score on day 90 was better in the administration group (P = 0.0095). The mRS scores on the day of death or discharge suggested a favorable effect of the treatment (P = 0.0678). Multivariable logistic regression analysis also showed that the treatment was associated with good mRS scores on day 90 (odds ratio [OR] = 2.81, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10-7.21, P = 0.0312). In contrast, ICH size was associated with poor mRS scores on day 90 (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.88-0.97, P = 0.0005). After propensity score matching, there was no difference in the outcomes between the two groups. We did not detect mild and serious adverse events.
Conclusion: The study could not show the significant effect of 2 weeks administration of tranexamic acid on functional outcomes of ICH patients after the matching; however, suggested that this treatment is at least safe and feasible. A larger and adequately powered trial is needed.
Keywords: Anti-inflammatory effect; Antifibrinolytic effect; Intracerebral hemorrhage; Kallikrein-Kinin system; Tranexamic acid.
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