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


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.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Joint Disease, Chonnam National University Bitgoeul Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
Young-Jun
YJ
Seol
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Joint Disease, Chonnam National University Bitgoeul Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
Jong-Keun
JK
Seon
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Joint Disease, Chonnam National University Bitgoeul Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
Seung-Hun
SH
Lee
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Joint Disease, Chonnam National University Bitgoeul Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
Cheng
C
Jin
Lady Hardingemedical College, Delhi University, New Delhi, India.
Jatin
J
Prakash
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Joint Disease, Chonnam National University Bitgoeul Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
Yong-Jin
YJ
Park
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Joint Disease, Chonnam National University Bitgoeul Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
Eun-Kyoo
EK
Song
Arthroplasty; Blood loss; Knee; Transexamic acid; Transfusion