Combined IV and Topical TXA in Major Spine Surgery

Prospective triple-blinded randomized control trial. The surgeon will provide study information (protocol, consent, general information) to patients in the surgeon's office. Recruitment will be done through a coordination of the operating schedule and the surgeon's office. Patients presenting for preoperative visits at the surgeon's office or the preoperative joint clinic will be approached. On the day of the surgery, the subject will meet the research team in the holding area. The team will finalize participation and ask the subject about the signed consent forms and answer any additional questions. All patients will be provided with copies of the IRB protocol and consent if they wish to have it. Copy of the consent form will be sent in a secured email to the potential subject. The email will be secured by entering in [SECURE] in the e-mail subject line. Once recruited blinding assessments will be done by the study team.

Patients will be assigned randomly using a computer-generated table of numbers to one of the three groups: 1) High Dose Intravenous TXA (hTXA group), 2) Low Dose Intravenous TXA (lTXA group), or 3) Combined Intravenous and Topical TXA group (cTXA group). Surgical team will perform the required spine procedure. Study personnel will make the medication which will be labelled as study drug for surgical and anesthesia team to give during the procedure. Patients assigned to hTXA group will receive 50mg/kg IV TXA loading dose with a 5mg/kg/hr maintenance dose, and normal saline poured over 5 minutes at the wound prior to closure. Patients assigned to lTXA group will receive 20mg/kg IV TXA loading dose with a 5mg/kg/hr maintenance dose, and normal saline poured over 5 minutes at the wound prior to closure. Patients assigned to cTXA group will received 20mg/kg V TXA loading dose with a 5mg/kg/hr maintenance dose, and 2g topical TXA poured over 5 minutes at the would prior to closure. Otherwise, the patient, surgeon, and anesthesiologist in the case will be blinded.

Inclusion criteria

• Adults 18-80 years old
• Undergo major multilevel spine surgery (2-8 levels)
• Male or female

Exclusion criteria

• ASA class V
• Urgent or emergent surgery,
• Morbid obesity
• Patients with known coagulopathy disorder, hx of thromboembolic event <1 year, renal insufficiency, hepatic dysfunction, serious cardiac disease
• Patients with known allergy to TXA or receiving antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant drugs
• Religious or other belief that limit blood transfusion,
• Surgery duration more than 6 hours
• Patient refusal or inability to consent