Economic Profile, Effectiveness and Complications of the use of Tranexamic Acid at a Joint Reconstruction Center

Abstract

A study was carried out at a joint reconstruction center in which records from patents who underwent hip and knee prosthetic surgery due to arthrosis were analyzed in 2 periods of time, whose difference lay in the use, as per institutional protocol, of tranexamic acid. Our goal was to assess the hematimetric parameters, complications and the economic impact generated in said center since the introduction of this drug. Information on patronymic variables, type of joint involved, hematimetric parameters, and need of blood product transfusion before surgery was collected before and after operations, and eventual immediate complications directly related to the use of the drug were recorded. Prosthetic replacements, arthroplasties due to fractures and those patients for whom it was not possible to collect the necessary information were excluded from the study. During the study, 187 procedures were assessed, 98 in hip and 89 in knee, patient mean age was 70 years (range); 61% were males. Tranexamic acid was used in 57% of the operations. The comparative analysis of groups reveals that none of the patients using tranexamic acid showed severe anemia, while there were 3 patients with severe anemia among those who did not use the drug. Out of the 187 patients studied, 21 were transfused postoperatively, all of whom belonged to the group that did not use tranexamic acid. When it comes to complications, 4 patients experienced deep vein thrombosis, 3 of whom belonged to the group in which the drug was not used, although this was not statistically significant. Since the introduction of tranexamic acid in our center, the use of blood transfusions and blood products has been reduced dramatically without substantial increase of complications and an evident reduction in the associated costs.

Keywords

NA

  • Research Identity (RIN)

  • License

    Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

  • Language & Pages

    English, 17-24

  • Classification

    NLMC Code: WE 348