Comparison of efficacy between tranexamic acid and epsilon-aminocaproic acid for total knee arthroplasty: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Tranexamic acid (TXA) and epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA) have been demonstrated to reduce blood loss following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This meta-analysis aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of TXA and EACA in reducing blood loss in primary TKA patients. METHODS: A search of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases identified all relevant studies published until December 2022. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting a comparison of TXA and EACA for TKA patients were selected. The main outcomes were total blood loss (TBL), hemoglobin (Hb) drop on postoperative day 3, intraoperative blood loss, operation time and the transfusion rate were evaluated. The weighted mean differences (WMD) and risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a fixed-effects or random-effects model. Stata 12.0 software was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: Six studies involving 739 (TXA:372; EACA:367) patients were included in this meta-analysis. There was no significant difference in terms of intraoperative blood loss, Hb drop on postoperative day 3, operation time, tourniquet time (TT), transfusion rate and the occurrence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) between the 2 treatments groups. However, compared with EACA, TXA significant reduced TBL (WMD, 174.60; 95% CI, −244.09 to −105.11). CONCLUSION: Our research did not demonstrate TXA to be superior to EACA in reducing need for transfusion and Hb drop. TXA was superior than EACA in reducing TBL in TKA patients. More RCTs with identical inclusion criteria and dose and duration of treatment, are required to confirm these findings.