POISE-3 Tranexamic Acid in Noncardiac Surgery

Send us Fan MailWelcome to Episode 5 of CLOT Conversations from Thrombosis Canada. In this episode Dr Jameel Abdulrehman and David Airdrie are joined by Dr PJ Devereaux and Dr M Marcucci, two of the authors of a recently published paper on the POISE-3 study entitled Tranexamic Acid in Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery. The paper was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (New England Journal of Medicine. 2022 Apr. DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2201171. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2201171).The authors discuss the results of the international POISE-3 study where 9539 patients underwent randomization. Patients were assigned to receive tranexamic acid (1-g intravenous bolus) or placebo at the start and end of surgery. The primary efficacy outcome was life-threatening bleeding, major bleeding, or bleeding into a critical organ (composite bleeding outcome) at 30 days. Dr Devereaux and Dr Marcucci discuss the study design, primary outcome and safety results, and the implications of the study.Dr. Devereaux obtained his MD from McMaster University.  After medical school he completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Calgary and a residency in cardiology at Dalhousie University.  He then completed a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology at McMaster University. Dr. Devereaux is a cardiologist, perioperative care physician, and clinical epidemiologist.  He is the Director of the Division of Perioperative Care at McMaster University.  He is a Senior Scientist and the Scientific Leader of the Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine, and Surgical Research Group at the Population Health Research Institute.  Dr. Devereaux is a full Professor in the Departments of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) and Medicine at McMaster University.  He is the President of the Society of Perioperative Research and Care. Dr. Devereaux has published >390 peer reviewed papers and >85 book chapters, editorials, and commentaries.  Dr. Devereaux has an h-index of 108 and 266,260 citations.  He has given >1000 lectures and research presentations in 41 countries.  Dr. Devereaux’s research program focuses on medical complications during and after surgery.  Dr. Devereaux is supported by the McMaster University/Hamilton Health Sciences Chair in Perioperative Care.  Dr. Devereaux holds a Tier 1 Canadian Research Chair in Perioperative Medicine.Dr. Maura Marcucci is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI), and Department of Medicine at McMaster University. She is attending physician in the Divisions of General Internal Medicine (GIM) and Perioperative Care. She is the Research Director for the Division of GIM. She is a Scientist at the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), working with the Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine, and Surgical Research Group. She is also part of the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), and member of the Scientific Medical Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians. Her main research focus is on cardiovascular and functional outcomes of older people undergoing noncardiac surgery, with a particular interest in perioperative neurocognitive disorders.Thrombosis Canada Tools related to the content:DOACs*: Management of Bleeding Clinical Guide: https://thrombosiscanada.ca/clinicalguides/#Perioperative Anticoagulant Algorithm: https://thrombosiscanada.ca/tools/?calc=perioperativeAnticoagulantAlgorithmFollow us on Twitter:Thrombosis Canada: @ThrombosisCan Reference: Devereaux, P. J., Maura Marcucci, Thomas W. Painter, David Conen, Vladimir Lomivorotov, Daniel I. Sessler, Matthew TV Chan et al. "TranexamicSupport the showhttps://thrombosiscanada.caRegister today for our upcoming conference on November 7, 2026 in Montreal at https://thrombosiscanada.ca/2026ConferenceTake a look at our healthcare professional and patient resources, videos and publications on thrombosis from the expert members of Thrombosis Canada