| Background: Peptic ulcers are among the most
common causes of upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding
in children. The standard care for GI bleeding is
endoscopy for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
We aimed to assess the effect of topical tranexamic
acid (TXA) via endoscopic procedures in children with
GI bleeding caused by bleeding ulcers. Procedure:
In this randomised controlled trial, 120 children were
evaluated by diagnostic procedures for GI bleeding,
of which 63 (30 girls, 33 boys) aged 1-month to 15
years were recruited. The patients were randomly
divided into case and control groups. In the case group,
TXA was administered directly under endoscopic
therapy. In the control group, epinephrine (1/10,000)
was submucosally injected to the four quadrants of
ulcer margins as the routine endoscopic therapy.
In both groups, the patients received supportive
medical therapy with intravenous fluids and proton
pump inhibitor drugs. Results: The mean ± standard
deviation age of the children was 5 ± 2.03 years.
Rebleeding occurred in 15 (11.4%) and 21 (9.8%)
patients in the case and control groups, respectively
(P = 0.50). The frequency of blood transfusion
episodes (P = 0.06) and duration of hospital stay
(P = 0.07) were not statistically different between
the groups. Conclusion: Using topical TXA via
endoscopic procedures may be effective in cases of
GI bleedings caused by active bleeding ulcers. In order
to establish this therapeutic effect, a large number of
clinical studies are needed. |