Knee Surg Relat Res.  2016 Sep;28(3):188-193. 10.5792/ksrr.2016.28.3.188.

Effect of Tranexamic Acid on Blood Loss and Blood Transfusion Reduction after Total Knee Arthroplasty

• Seol YJ
• Seon JK
• Lee SH
• Jin C
• Prakash J
• Park YJ
• Song EK

• KMID: 2350095
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5792/ksrr.2016.28.3.188

Abstract

PURPOSE
Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) accompanies the risk of bleeding and need for transfusion. There are several methods to reduce postoperative blood loss and blood transfusion. One such method is using tranexamic acid during TKA. The purpose of this study was to confirm whether tranexamic acid reduces postoperative blood loss and blood transfusion after TKA.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 100 TKA patients were included in the study. The tranexamic acid group consisted of 50 patients who received an intravenous injection of tranexamic acid. The control included 50 patients who received a placebo injection. The amounts of drainage, postoperative hemoglobin, and transfusion were compared between the groups.
RESULTS
The mean amount of drainage was lower in the tranexamic acid group (580.6±355.0 mL) than the control group (886.0±375.5 mL). There was a reduction in the transfusion rate in the tranexamic acid group (48%) compared with the control group (64%). The hemoglobin level was higher in the tranexamic acid group than in the control group at 24 hours postoperatively. The mean units of transfusion were smaller in the tranexamic acid group (0.76 units) than in the control group (1.28 units).
CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that intravenous injection of tranexamic acid decreases the total blood loss and transfusion after TKA.

Keyword

Knee; Arthroplasty; Transexamic acid; Blood loss; Transfusion

MeSH Terms

Arthroplasty
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee*
Blood Transfusion*
Drainage
Hemorrhage
Humans
Injections, Intravenous
Knee
Methods
Postoperative Hemorrhage
Tranexamic Acid*
Tranexamic Acid