The Efficacy and Population Pharmacokinetics of Tranexamic Acid for Craniosynostosis Surgery

This research study is being performed to evaluate two different doses of Tranexamic acid (TXA) in children who have craniosynostosis and have been referred to Boston Children's Hospital for corrective surgery. This surgery is associated with significant blood loss and frequently requires the transfusion of blood. TXA is a medication that reduces the amount of bleeding during surgery by improving clotting of the blood at the surgical site. TXA is an FDA-approved drug that is routinely used in infants and children undergoing major surgery including heart surgery, craniofacial surgery and scoliosis surgery. It has been shown to decrease both the amount of bleeding and the amount of blood transfusion needed. We would like to compare the different doses of TXA to see if a lower dose has the same effect on blood loss as a higher dose. We are also interested to learn why TXA seems to work better in some patients than in others. In order to study the effect of this drug we would like to give this drug to your child and measure the blood loss and the volume of blood given to your child during his/her surgery. The research is being done at two sites; Boston Children's Hospital and Gaslini Children's Hospital in Genoa, Italy. The main study doctor from Boston Children's Hospital is Dr. Susan Goobie. The Department of Anesthesiology at Boston Children's Hospital is sponsoring this study. We are planning to study a total of 68 infants and children from age 3 months to 6 years old scheduled for open craniosynostosis surgery at Boston Children's Hospital or Gaslini Children's Hospital.