Carla Guerriero

The CRASH-2 trial: a randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of the effects of tranexamic acid on death, vascular occlusive events and transfusion requirement in bleeding trauma patients

BACKGROUND Among trauma patients who survive to reach hospital, exsanguination is a common cause of death. A widely practicable treatment that reduces blood loss after trauma could prevent thousands of premature deaths each year. The CRASH-2 trial aimed to determine the effect of the early administration of tranexamic acid on death and transfusion requirement in bleeding trauma patients. In addition, the effort of tranexamic acid on the risk of vascular occlusive events was assessed. OBJECTIVE Tranexamic acid (TXA) reduces bleeding in patients undergoing elective surgery. We assessed the effects and cost-effectiveness of the early administration of a short course of TXA on death, vascular occlusive events and the receipt of blood transfusion in trauma patients. DESIGN Randomised placebo-controlled trial and economic evaluation. Randomisation was balanced by centre, with an allocation sequence based on a block size of eight, generated with a computer random number generator. Both participants and study staff (site investigators and trial co-ordinating centre staff) were masked to treatment allocation. All analyses were by intention to treat. A Markov model was used to assess cost-effectiveness. The health outcome was the number of life-years (LYs) gained. Cost data were obtained from hospitals, the World Health Organization database and UK reference costs. Cost-effectiveness was measured in international dollars (

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Administering Tranexamic Acid to Bleeding Trauma Patients Using Evidence from the CRASH-2 Trial.

) per LY. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test the robustness of the results to model assumptions. SETTING Two hundred and seventy-four hospitals in 40 countries. PARTICIPANTS Adult trauma patients (n = 20,211) with, or at risk of, significant bleeding who were within 8 hours of injury. INTERVENTIONS Tranexamic acid (loading dose 1 g over 10 minutes then infusion of 1 g over 8 hours) or matching placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome was death in hospital within 4 weeks of injury, and was described with the following categories: bleeding, vascular occlusion (myocardial infarction, stroke and pulmonary embolism), multiorgan failure, head injury and other. RESULTS Patients were allocated to TXA (n = 10,096) and to placebo (n = 10,115), of whom 10,060 and 10,067 patients, respectively, were analysed. All-cause mortality at 28 days was significantly reduced by TXA [1463 patients (14.5%) in the TXA group vs 1613 patients (16.0%) in the placebo group; relative risk (RR) 0.91; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85 to 0.97; p = 0.0035]. The risk of death due to bleeding was significantly reduced [489 patients (4.9%) died in the TXA group vs 574 patients (5.7%) in the placebo group; RR 0.85; 95% CI 0.76 to 0.96; p = 0.0077]. We recorded strong evidence that the effect of TXA on death due to bleeding varied according to the time from injury to treatment (test for interaction p < 0.0001). Early treatment (≤ 1 hour from injury) significantly reduced the risk of death due to bleeding [198 out of 3747 patients (5.3%) died in the TXA group vs 286 out of 3704 patients (7.7%) in the placebo group; RR 0.68; 95% CI 0.57 to 0.82; p < 0.0001]. Treatment given between 1 and 3 hours also reduced the risk of death due to bleeding [147 out of 3037 patients (4.8%) died in the TXA group vs 184 out of 2996 patients (6.1%) in the placebo group; RR 0.79; 95% CI 0.64 to 0.97; p = 0.03]. Treatment given after 3 hours seemed to increase the risk of death due to bleeding [144 out of 3272 patients (4.4%) died in the TXA group vs 103 out of 3362 patients (3.1%) in the placebo group; RR 1.44; 95% CI1.12 to 1.84; p = 0.004]. We recorded no evidence that the effect of TXA on death due to bleeding varied by systolic blood pressure, Glasgow Coma Scale score or type of injury. Administering TXA to bleeding trauma patients within 3 hours of injury saved an estimated 755 LYs per 1000 trauma patients in the UK. The cost of giving TXA to 1000 patients was estimated at

The risk of transfusion-transmitted infections in sub-Saharan Africa.

30,830. The incremental cost of giving TXA compared with not giving TXA was

Giving tranexamic acid to reduce surgical bleeding in sub-Saharan Africa: an economic evaluation

48,002. The incremental cost per LY gained of administering TXA was

Wasting lives: The effects of toxic waste exposure on health The case of Campania, Southern Italy

64. CONCLUSIONS Early administration of TXA safely reduced the risk of death in bleeding trauma patients and is highly cost-effective. Treatment beyond 3 hours of injury is unlikely to be effective. Future work [the Clinical Randomisation of an Antifibrinolytic in Significant Head injury-3 (CRASH-3) trial] will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TXA in the treatments of isolated traumatic brain injury (http://crash3.lshtm.ac.uk/). TRIAL REGISTRATION Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN86750102, ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00375258 and South African Clinical Trial Register DOH-27-0607-1919. FUNDING The project was funded by the Bupa Foundation, the J P Moulton Charitable Foundation and the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 17, No. 10. See HTA programme website for further project information.

Is computer aided detection (CAD) cost effective in screening mammography? A model based on the CADET II study

Objective To assess the cost effectiveness of giving tranexamic acid (TXA) to bleeding trauma patients in low, middle and high income settings. Methods The CRASH-2 trial showed that TXA administration reduces the risk of death in bleeding trauma patients with a small but statistically significant increase in non-intensive care stay. A Markov model was used to assess the cost effectiveness of TXA in Tanzania, India and the United Kingdom (UK). The health outcome was the number of life years gained (LYs). Two costs were considered: the cost of administering TXA and the cost of additional days in hospital. Cost data were obtained from hospitals, World Health Organization (WHO) database and UK reference costs. Cost-effectiveness was measured in international dollars (

The potential monetary benefits of reclaiming hazardous waste sites in the Campania region: an economic evaluation.

) per LY. Both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test the robustness of the results to model assumptions. Findings Administering TXA to bleeding trauma patients within three hours of injury saved an estimated 372, 315 and 755 LYs per 1,000 trauma patients in Tanzania, India and the UK respectively. The cost of giving TXA to 1,000 patients was

A clinical and economic evaluation of Control of Hyperglycaemia in Paediatric intensive care (CHiP): a randomised controlled trial.

17,483 in Tanzania,

Verteporfin Photodynamic Therapy Cohort Study: Report 2: Clinical Measures of Vision and Health-Related Quality of Life

19,550 in India and

Verteporfin Photodynamic Therapy Cohort Study: Report 3: Cost Effectiveness and Lessons for Future Evaluations

30,830 in the UK. The incremental cost of giving TXA versus not giving TXA was