Tranexamic acid is associated with selective increase in inflammatory markers following total knee arthroplasty (TKA): a pilot study

Grant, Andrea L., Letson, Hayley L., Morris, Jodie L., McEwen, Peter, Hazratwala, Kaushik, Wilkinson, Matthew, and Dobson, Geoffrey P. (2018) Tranexamic acid is associated with selective increase in inflammatory markers following total knee arthroplasty (TKA): a pilot study. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, 13. 149.

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Abstract

Background: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is commonly used in orthopedic surgery to reduce excessive bleeding and transfusion requirements. Our aim was to examine if TXA was required in all osteoarthritis patients undergoing TKA surgery, and its possible effects on systemic inflammation and coagulation properties.

Methods: Twenty-three patients (Oxford Score 22–29) were recruited consecutively; 12 patients received TXA before (IV, 1.2 g/90 kg) and immediately after surgery (intra-articular, 1.4 g/90 kg). Inflammatory mediators and ROTEM parameters were measured in blood at baseline, after the first bone-cut, immediately after surgery, and postoperative days 1 and 2.

Results: After the bone cut and surgery, TXA significantly increased MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 levels compared to non-TXA patients, which was further amplified postoperatively. During surgery, TXA significantly prolonged EXTEM clot times, indicating a thrombin-slowing effect, despite little or no change in clot amplitude or fibrinogen. TXA was associated with three- to fivefold increases in FIBTEM maximum lysis (ML), a finding counter to TXA's antifibrinolytic effect. Maximum lysis for extrinsic and intrinsic pathways was < 8%, indicating little or no hyperfibrinolysis. No significant differences were found in postoperative hemoglobin between the two groups.

Conclusions: TXA was associated with increased systemic inflammation during surgery compared to non-TXA patients, with further amplification on postoperative days 1 and 2. On the basis of little or no change in viscoelastic clot strength, fibrinogen or clot lysis, there appeared to be no clinical justification for TXA in our group of patients. Larger prospective, randomized trials are required to investigate a possible proinflammatory effect in TKA patients.

Item ID: 54546
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1749-799X
Keywords: tranexamic acid; total knee arthroplasty; coagulation; inflammation; orthopaedic surgery; trauma
Additional Information:

© The Author(s). 2018 Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

Date Deposited: 02 Aug 2018 03:50
FoR Codes: 32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3202 Clinical sciences > 320216 Orthopaedics @ 100%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9201 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) > 920116 Skeletal System and Disorders (incl. Arthritis) @ 50%
92 HEALTH > 9201 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) > 920118 Surgical Methods and Procedures @ 30%
92 HEALTH > 9201 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) > 920199 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) not elsewhere classified @ 20%
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