The Effect of Single High-Dose Preoperative Intravenous Tranexamic Acid Administration to Reduce Blood Loss in Patients with Primary Total Knee Replacement

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze the efficacy of single-dose tranexamic acid (TA) 20 mg/kg preoperatively to reduce blood loss in patients undergoing total knee replacement (TKR). METHODS: A total of 387 patients (82 males, 305 females) undergoing TKR between January 2014 and December 2018 were included in the study. The T + group was administrated intravenous (iv) TA 20 mg/kg 20 min before the skin incision. We determined perioperative blood loss, the amount of drainage postoperative 24 h, the amount of drainage after postoperative 24–48 h, total volume of drains, total volume of blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, and amount of total blood transfusion. RESULTS: In terms of demographic data, no statistically significant difference was observed between the groups. Perioperative blood loss and total volume of blood loss was found statistically higher in T − group compared to T + group. Postoperatively, the mean hemoglobin and hematocrit levels of T − group were statistically significantly lower than T + group. CONCLUSION: A single 20 mg/kg iv TA administration before TKR reduces bleeding during surgery and within 24 h postoperatively.