Objective: The incidence of postoperative nonischemic seizures associated with the use of tranexamic acid (TXA) and the possibility of prevention with a low-dose regimen of TXA were evaluated.
Design: Retrospective study.
Setting: Tertiary care university hospital.
Participants: A total of 12,195 patients who underwent cardiac surgical procedures under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were evaluated.
Interventions: The files of every clinical seizure case diagnosed in the surgical intensive care unit between April 2006 and April 2014 were reviewed. Patients who experienced a postoperative seizure underwent a cerebral computed tomography scan to exclude an ischemic lesion. Dosage and type of antifibrinolytic used and surgery characteristics were retrieved from perfusion files. Low-dose TXA was defined as 1,000-mg bolus, 400-mg/h infusion, and 500 mg in CPB priming. High-dose TXA was defined as 30-mg/kg bolus, 15 mg/kg/h, and 2 mg/kg in CPB priming.
Results: No seizure was observed in the 886 patients who did not receive antifibrinolytics. A total of 98 clinical seizures (0.8%) were recorded in the intensive care unit, and ischemic cause was excluded in the majority of them after computed tomography scan results were reviewed (91 patients [93%]). Low-dose TXA was associated with fewer seizures than was high-dose TXA (46 of 7,452 cases [0.70%] v 34 of 2,190 cases [1.55%], respectively; p < 0.0001). Open-chamber cardiac surgery also was linked to a higher incidence of seizures compared with revascularization (80 of 6,662 [1.20%] and 11 of 5,533 [0.20%], respectively; p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: Lower doses of TXA were associated with a lower incidence of nonischemic seizures compared with higher doses of the drug.
Keywords: antifibrinolytics; cardiac surgery; seizures; tranexamic acid.
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