Blood-Preserving Effect of Tranexamic Acid in Knee Joint Replacement

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in knee joint replacement. Subjects and methods: the prospective open-label study of the efficacy of tranexamic acid as an agent for blood loss reduction in knee joint replacement included 41 patients who were randomly randomized in two groups. Tranexamic acid (Tranexam, ZAO «Mir-Pharm») was injected intravenously in a dose of 15 mg/kg in Group 1 patients just before tourniquet removal, which caused a significant (p=0.003) reduction in drainage losses (from 556 (200; 800) ml to 234 (100; 300) ml) and in the calculated (from the changed concentration on days 3—4 postoperative days) values of overall blood loss (from 1821 (1348; 2156) ml to 1269 (924; 1580) ml (p=0.001) in the immediate postoperative period. There were no tranexamic acid-associated complications. Conclusion: Tranexamic acid is an effective agent in reducing blood loss when the knee joint is replaced. Key words: knee joint replacement, blood loss, tranexamic acid.