Intravenous Tranexamic Acid Versus Topical Aminocaproic Acid: Which Method Has the Least Blood Loss and Transfusion Rates?

INTRODUCTION: Since the advent of antifibrinolytics, blood transfusions and their associated complications in total joint arthroplasty have decreased. Few studies have compared different antifibrinolytic types with respect to blood loss and transfusion rates. We sought to compare the blood loss and transfusion rates between epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA), tranexamic acid (TXA), and control. METHODS: A total of 564 patients underwent primary total hip or total knee arthroplasty at our institution. Patients were divided into 3 groups: 183 EACA, 204 TXA, and 177 control. Patient demographics, hemoglobin, transfusion rates, and blood loss were collected. RESULTS: Patient preoperative variables were similar. The control group had a mean estimated blood loss (EBL) of 1.48 L, with 51 units of packed red blood cells (pRBCs) given and 14.7% of patients receiving a blood transfusion. The EACA group had an EBL of 1.33 L, with 20 pRBCs given and 10.9% of patients receiving a transfusion. The TXA group had an EBL of 1.05 L, with 3 pRBCs transfused in 0.98% of patients. Compared with the control group, blood loss (P = 0.0014; P < 0.0001), number of pRBCs given (P = 0.007; P < 0.0001), and number of patients transfused (P = 0.012; P < 0.0001) were significantly lower in the EACA and TXA groups, respectively. TXA had significantly lower blood loss (P < 0.0001), lower number of tranfusions (P = 0.005), and less patients transfused (P = 0.003) compared with EACA. CONCLUSION: Our study reports lower blood loss, transfusion rates, and number of patients needing transfusion with both EACA and TXA in the setting of total joint arthroplasty. When comparing between EACA and TXA, TXA had lower blood loss, transfusion rates, and number of patients requiring transfusion.