Efficacy and Safety of Tranexamic Acid in Spinal Fusion Surgery

This will be a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel group study comparing tranexamic acid (test) to placebo (control) for reduction of perioperative blood loss after complex spinal fusion surgery (defined as T2 to Pelvis/Sacrum and greater than 4 Functional Spinal Units (4 discs/motion segments=5 Vertebral segments)). In addition to test and control treatments, all patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery will receive anesthesia and standard of care for blood loss including colloid/crystalloid fluid replacement and packed red cells, if necessary, according to a common multi-institutional protocol. Anesthesia will keep the mean arterial pressure as low as safe for the patient during exposure of surgery (estimated at 60-80 MAP). Patients will be randomized to receive either 30 mg/kg tranexamic acid as a one hour infusion (3 mL/kg) loading dose prior to start of procedure and as an infusion at 3 mg/kg/h (0.3 mL/kg/h) of tranexamic acid throughout the surgery in the test group; or, a one hour infusion at 3 mL/kg of 0.9% saline prior to start of the procedure and an infusion of 0.9% saline at 0.3 mL/kg/h in the control group. The maximum total dose will be 50 mg/kg. The active phase of the study will be until discharge postoperatively for efficacy measurements and at 6 weeks for safety follow-up. The randomization will be open only to the statistician generating the randomization sequence. All PI(s), study conduct and monitoring staff, as well as the subjects will be completely blinded to the treatments except in the case of emergency. The study will be terminated if ≥5/12 or 10/36 patients enrolled in the study are diagnosed with treatment related serious adverse events.