Prophylactic use of tranexamic acid combined with thrombelastogram guided coagulation management may reduce blood loss and allogeneic transfusion in pediatric hemispherectomy: case series ★★★

• Hemispherectomy is a procedure to treat diffuse hemispheric diseases.
• Hemispherectomy is reported to be companied with massive bleeding.
• Blood transfusion increases mortality and morbidity.
• Thrombelastogram plus tranexamic acid may reduce the need of blood transfusion.

Hemispherectomy is an established surgical procedure to treat medically refractory epilepsy caused by diffuse hemispheric diseases. The most common complication of hemispherectomy is intraoperative bleeding. Perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion increases mortality and morbidity in pediatric patients. Etiologies of massive blood loss during hemispherectomy include intraoperative diffuse vascular damage, antileptic drugs induced coagulation dysfunction, hyperfibrinolysis and dilutional coagulopathy. Great efforts should be made to minimize the need of blood transfusion. We present a series of three cases undergoing pediatric hemispherectomy, where a new algorithm was employed to manage coagulation. This new algorithm was mainly based on timely thrombelastogram analyses guided clotting factors supplement and continuous administration of tranexamic acid. In our cases, the amount of blood loss and subsequent allogeneic blood transfusion seemed to be less than literature reported.