Does tranexamic acid have role in controlling intraoperative blood loss in tonsillectomy

Background: The study was done with the objective to assess the effect of tranexamic acid in controlling intraoperative bleeding in tonsillectomy. Methods: Retrospective study was conducted in the Department of ENT and HNS, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal from August 2016 to July 2017. Patients more than 15 years who underwent bilateral tonsillectomy were included in the study. Whereas patients who underwent unilateral tonsillectomy and patients who had hypersensitivity to tranexamic acid were excluded from the study. The patients who received tranexamic acid during surgery were taken as study group whereas the patients who didn’t receive tranexamic acid were taken as control. The amount of the intraoperative blood loss, i.e. mean and the frequency of early post-operative bleeding were evaluated. Results: A total of 48 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were evaluated. Among whom, 24 patients who received tranexamic acid during tonsillectomy were taken as study group and other 24 patients who did not received tranexamic acid were taken as control. The mean blood loss in study and control group were 92.85 ml and 91.40 ml respectively and the difference was statistically not significant (p=0.785). There were no cases of early postoperative bleeding recorded in either group within the first 24 hours of surgery. Conclusions: There is no significant role of tranexamic acid in controlling intraoperative bleeding in tonsillectomy.