**3. Results**

#### *3.1. Eligible Studies and Study Characteristics*

The database search identified 240 citations (Figure 1). After excluding duplicates, reviews, editorials, letters, case reports and meta-analysis, a total of ten studies [10,16–24] met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the analysis, comprising 993 patients.

**Figure 1.** Forest plot of blood volume loss among TXA and non-TXA groups. The centre of each square represents the weighted mean differences for individual trials, and the corresponding horizontal line stands for a 95% confidence interval. The diamonds represent pooled results.

The mean age of participants in TXA and non-TXA groups was 59.6 ± 21.5 and 60.3 ± 21.3 years, respectively. The men constituted 51.5% vs 49.4%, respectively, for TXA and non-TXA groups. Baseline characteristics for all included studies are shown in Table 1 and Table S1. Studies were published from 2015 to 2021. Seven studies were designed as

randomized controlled trials [17–21,23,24]. The results of the assessment of risk of bias among included studies are provided in Figures S1–S4.


**Table 1.** Study characteristics.

Legend: NS = not specified; RCT = randomized controlled trial; TXA = tranexamic acid.
