Blood loss and limb circumference changes in patients undergoing unilateral total knee arthroplasty after intra-articular injection of tranexamic acid:a randomized controlled trial / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:Tranexamic acid has been more and more used in reducing bleeding after joint replacement, but its usage method and dosage remain controversial, and become a hot focus in recent years. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the efficacy of intra-articular injection of tranexamic acid on postoperative blood loss and limb circumference changes in patients who received unilateral total knee arthroplasty. METHODS:From March to October 2013, clinical data of 90 patients undergoing primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty were randomized to the tranexamic acid group and the control group, including 19 males and 71 females. The 30 patients in the tranexamic acid group received 50 mL of 3%tranexamic acid dilute solution inside knee joint after capsule closure, and 60 patients in the control group received the same volume of physiological saline. No significant difference in age, height, body mass index, anticoagulation, the type of prosthesis, tourniquet time and preoperative diagnosis was detected between the two groups (P>0.05). The amounts of intraoperative and postoperative blood loss and blood transfusion, postoperative drainage volume, the preoperative and postoperative limb circumference 10 cm above the operated knee were recorded. Routine blood test was reviewed after the surgery. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There were no significant differences in total blood loss, postoperative drainage volume and limb circumference changes between tranexamic acid and control groups (P>0.05). The amount of postoperative hidden blood loss was significantly less in the tranexamic acid group than in the control group (t=-2.683, P<0.05). These data suggested that the intra-articular injection of tranexamic acid intraoperatively in patients receiving total knee arthroplasty could significantly reduce the amounts of postoperative hidden blood loss, and did not affect the postoperative limb circumference changes.