Investigation of clinical efficacy and safety of a new herbal “Algan Hemostatic AgentTM” in lumbar disc herniation operations

Abstract

Aim. ALGAN Hemostatic Agent (AHA) is obtained with a standard mixture of 6 different herbs. It is a polysaccharide based hemostatic agent. The purpose of this study is to determine the clinical efficacy and reliability of AHA as a local hemostatic agent in lumbar disc herniation operations. Materials and Methods. In the study, the hemostatic efficacy of the product was observed on 28 volunteers underwent lumbar disc herniation surgery. In the treatment and control groups (14 patients each), operation times, bleeding stop times, pre- and postoperative hematocrit values (amount of blood loss), duration of hospital stay, and need for cautery use were compared. Traditional methods (cautery, ligation, etc.), which are used as a hemostatic in the operation, were always ready to be used effectively. The AHA application took 120 seconds. Results. While there was no difference between the groups in terms of preoperative hemoglobin and hematocrit values, postoperative hemoglobin and hematocrit values were statistically significant (p=0.033, 0.043). The amount of cautery use decreased significantly in the treatment group and the result was found to be statistically significant (p=.0.001). There was no significant difference in blood transfusion and mean operation times. Conclusions. AHA has been shown to be both effective in controlling bleeding and safe, so it can be used as an auxiliary product in capillary bleeding control in lumbar disc operations.