Tranexamic acid administration to older patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty conserves hemoglobin and reduces blood loss

Fast Track Protocols and Early Rehabilitation after Surgery in Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Narrative Review

The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) or Fast Track is defined as a multi-disciplinary, peri- and post-operative approach finalized to reduce surgical stress and simplify post-operative recovery. It has been introduced more than 20 years ago by Khelet to improve outcomes in general surgery. Fast Track is adapted to the patient's condition and improves traditional rehabilitation methods using evidence-based practices. Fast Track programs have been introduced into total hip arthroplasty (THA) surgery, with a reduction in post-operative length of stay, shorter convalescence, and rapid functional recovery without increased morbidity and mortality. We have divided Fast Track into three cores: pre-, intra-, and post-operative. For the first, we analyzed the standards of patient selection, for the second the anesthesiologic and intraoperative protocols, for the third the possible complications and the appropriate postoperative management. This narrative review aims to present the current status of THA Fast Track surgery research, implementation, and perspectives for further improvements. By implementing the ERAS protocol in the THA setting, an increase in patient satisfaction can be obtained while retaining safety and improving clinical outcomes.

Prevention of Venous Thrombosis of Lower Limbs after Cesarean Section Based on Smart Medical Air Pressure Therapy Instrument

Affected by the environment, the incidence of lower extremity venous thrombosis after cesarean section is gradually increasing, and postoperative nursing is becoming more and more important. The intelligent medical air pressure therapy instrument is a common and effective postpartum nursing method. This paper studies the role of pneumatic therapeutic apparatus in the prevention of lower extremity venous thrombosis after cesarean section in smart medicine, describes its importance in nursing, and analyzes the role of pneumatic therapeutic apparatus and smart medicine combined with the postoperative nursing situation of patients with cesarean section in our hospital. In this paper, we aggregate the description text of six levels of hospital intelligent service grading evaluation. In order to show the characteristics of each level and the requirements of each level of hospital intelligent service, we can roughly see the differences between different levels. Research shows that with the construction of medical information platform, more and more medical processes rely on hospital information system, which promotes the integration of medical platform and the interconnection of medical equipment, provides convenient services for patients, and provides patients with easier access to services. At the same time, the massive data generated by appointment, nursing, treatment, and other activities will be recorded, and the pneumatic therapeutic instrument can avoid the occurrence of 60% lower extremity venous thrombosis. The data of air pressure therapeutic instrument is dynamic, and its performance is mainly reflected in the recording of dynamic index data.

Tranexamic acid reduces blood loss in primary total hip arthroplasty performed using the direct anterior approach: a one-center retrospective observational study

BACKGROUND

It is still unknown whether tranexamic acid (TXA) is beneficial for the minimally invasive surgical approach to total hip arthroplasty (THA). The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of intravenous TXA in primary THA via the direct anterior approach (DAA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on 70 patients with nontraumatic avascular necrosis of the femoral head who underwent THA via the DAA between October 2017 and October 2018. Patients were divided into two groups: TXA group (39 patients received 1.5 g TXA intravenously) and control group (31 patients did not receive TXA). Patients were assessed by operative time, postoperative hemoglobin (HB) drop, transfusion rate, postoperative length of hospital stays (LHS), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and Harris hip score (HHS).

RESULTS

Total blood loss, hidden blood loss, and postoperative HB drop in the TXA group were significantly lower than in the control group (p < 0.05). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of intraoperative blood loss, operative time, transfusion rate, postoperative LHS, HHS, or incidence of DVT (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

TXA may reduce perioperative blood loss without increasing complications in THA via the DAA.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IV, therapeutic study.

Effect of age on the efficacy of tranexamic acid: An analysis of heterogeneity of treatment effect within the CRASH-2 dataset

BACKGROUND

Trauma is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults and will become more common as the population ages. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is a lysine analogue frequently used in the setting of significant trauma with hemorrhage. The aim of this study is to investigate the heterogeneity of treatment effect of TXA as it relates to patient age during trauma care.

METHODS

We included patients from the CRASH-2 trial who were randomized within 3 h of injury. Patients were stratified into age groups <26 years, 26 to 35 years, 36 to 45 years, 46 to 55 years, and >55 years. Multiple logistic regression models were utilized to evaluate adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for mortality. Heterogeneity of treatment effect was evaluated using Akaike and Bayesian information criteria to determine the optimum logistic regression model after which a Wald Chi-square test was utilized to evaluate statistical significance.

RESULTS

On univariate analysis, TXA administration decreased mortality within the <26 years cohort (decrease of 2.1%, 95% CI 0.2 to 4.0), 46 to 55 years cohort (decrease 6.7%, 95% CI 2.7 to 10.7), and >55 years cohort (decrease of 5.3%, 95% CI 0.4 to 10.3). On adjusted analysis, when compared to the 36 to 45 years cohort, the <26 year cohort experienced a decreased mortality (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.85) whereas the >55 year cohort experienced increased mortality (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.5 to 2.2). Assessment for heterogeneity of treatment effect of TXA administration between groups approached but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.11).

CONCLUSIONS

Mortality related to trauma increases with age, however, there does not appear to be heterogeneity of treatment effect for TXA administration among different age groups.

[Efficacy and safety of intravenous combined with topical administration of tranexamic acid in reducing blood loss after intramedullary fixation of intertrochanteric femoral fractures]

Objective

To investigate the efficacy and safety of intravenous combined with topical administration of tranexamic acid (TXA) in reducing blood loss after intramedullary fixation of intertrochanteric femoral fractures by a prospective controlled trial.

Methods

Patients with intertrochanteric femoral fractures, who were admitted for intramedullary fixation between June 2015 and July 2019, were selected as the study subjects, 120 of whom met the selection criteria. The patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups: intravenous administration group (group A, 41 cases), topical administration group (group B, 40 cases), and combined administrations group (group C, 39 cases). In group A, 4 patients occurred deep vein thrombosis of lower extremity before operation, 1 patient died of myocardial infarction on the 5th day after operation, and 1 patient developed severe pulmonary infection after operation. In group B, 2 patients occurred deep vein thrombosis of lower extremity before operation and 1 patient had iatrogenic fracture during operation. In group C, 3 patients occurred deep vein thrombosis of lower extremity before operation and 1 patient developed pulmonary infection before operation and gave up surgical treatment. All the above patients were excluded from the study, and the remaining 107 cases were included in the analysis, including 35, 37, and 35 cases in groups A, B, and C, respectively. There was no significant difference in gender, age, height, body mass, injury cause, fracture side and type, the interval between injury and operation, and preoperative hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit between groups ( P>0.05). Intraoperative TXA (15 mg/kg) was injected intravenously in group A at 30 minutes before operation, and 1 g of TXA was injected into the medullary cavity in group B after the proximal femur was grooted and before the intramedullary nail implantation, respectively. TXA was given in group C before and during operation according to the administration methods and dosage of groups A and B. Total blood loss, maximum Hb decrease, blood transfusion rate, operation time, fracture healing time, and the incidence of complications were recorded and compared between groups. The hip joint function were evaluated by Harris score.

Results

There was no significant difference in operation time between groups ( P>0.05). The total blood loss, the maximum Hb decrease, and the blood transfusion rate in group B were the highest, followed by group A and group C, and the differences between groups were significant ( P<0.05). No incision infection or pulmonary embolism occurred in the 3 groups after operation. The incidence of anemia in group C was significantly lower than that in groups A and B, the difference was significant ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of subcutaneous hematoma, aseptic exudation, and deep vein thrombosis of lower extremity between groups ( P>0.05). All patients in the 3 groups were followed up 8-35 months, with an average of 16.2 months. The fracture healing time of groups A, B, and C was (6.12±1.78), (5.89±1.63), and (5.94±1.69) months, respectively, and there was no significant difference between groups ( P>0.05). At last follow-up, the Harris scores of the hip joints in groups A, B, and C were 83.18±7.76, 84.23±8.01, and 85.43±8.34, and the difference was not significant ( P>0.05).

Conclusion

Preoperative intravenous injection combined with intraoperative topical application of TXA can effectively reduce blood loss and blood transfusion after intramedullary fixation of femoral intertrochanteric fracture, without increasing the risk of deep vein thrombosis, and the efficacy is better than that of intravenous injection or topical administration.

Tranexamic Acid Combined with Compression Bandage Following Total Knee Arthroplasty Promotes Blood Coagulation: A Retrospective Analysis

Objective

This paper included a retrospective review of the effect of tranexamic acid (TXA) combined with pressure bandaging on hemostasis of patients who received a unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) from 2017 to 2019.

Methods

A total of 197 patients undergoing TKA were chosen to be classified into 2 groups, the compression bandage control group and compression bandage combined with TXA observation group. The patients received blood routine examination when they were in the 1st, 3rd, and 6th days of before and postoperation. Some parameters, such as hemoglobin (Hb), C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer value, fibrinogen, prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), international normalized ratio (INR), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), were also investigated.

Results

In our research, the mean age was 66.54 ± 7.95 years. No difference was found in patient sex (P = 0.876) and age (P = 0.749) between groups. No differences were found in the levels of Hb, fibrinogen, TT, and INR between the 2 groups at each period (P > 0.05). The difference of PT was significantly different on the 1st day (P = 0.011), 3rd day (P = 0.010), and 6th day (P = 0.004) after surgery. Besides, the changes in APTT in observation group were clearly higher compared with the control group on the 3rd day (P = 0.001) and 6th day (P = 0.001). On the 3rd and 6th days after operation, the CRP level of the two groups increased continuously, and the CRP level was significantly higher in the observation group in comparison with the control group (P = 0.008, P = 0.010). On 1st and 3rd days after surgery, compared to the control group, the D-dimer level of patients in the observation group was distinctly fewer (P = 0.001, P = 0.027).

Conclusion

TXA combined with compression bandage is a potential option for the reduction of bleeding after TKA.

Effect of 3 different anticoagulants on hidden blood loss during total hip arthroplasty after tranexamic acid

Comparison of different anticoagulants in blood management and complications with tranexamic acid (TXA) in total hip arthroplasty (THA) is unclear. Our aim was to compare the efficacy and safety among receiving nadroparin calcium, enoxaparin sodium or rivaroxaban after TXA in THA.150 patients undergoing primary unilateral THA were received 15 mg/kg intravenous TXA (IV-TXA) before skin incision, followed by 1 of nadroparin calcium (Group A), enoxaparin sodium (Group B), or rivaroxaban (Group C) randomly during hospitalization. The primary outcome was hidden blood loss (HBL). Other outcomes such as the maximum hemoglobin (Hb) drop, total blood loss (TBL), the volume of drainage, transfusion rate, length of hospital stay (LOS), and complications were also compared.There were no statistically significant differences in HBL, the maximum hemoglobin (Hb) drop, transfusion rate, and complications among 3 groups. LOS was significantly higher for patients in Group B than Group A (P = .026). Neither deep venous thrombosis (DVT) nor pulmonary embolism (PE) occurred in any group.There were no differences in efficacy and safety in patients undergoing THA receiving nadroparin calcium, enoxaparin sodium, or rivaroxaban after anti-fibrinolysis with TXA.

Pathologic Versus Native Hip Fractures: Comparing 30-day Mortality and Short-term Complication Profiles

BACKGROUND

A large body of research on native hip fractures has resulted in several evidence-based guidelines aimed at improving postsurgical care for these patients. In contrast, there is a paucity of data on pathologic hip fractures, and whether native hip fracture protocols are generalizable to this population is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare mortality rates and complication profiles between patients with pathologic and native hip fractures.

METHODS

Using the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database, we identified patients who underwent surgical treatment for pathologic and native hip fractures from 2007 to 2017 and 2601 matched pairs were identified using propensity scoring. Baseline covariates were controlled for, and rates of 30-day postoperative complications and mortality were compared using McNemar's test.

RESULTS

Pathologic hip fracture patients experienced significantly higher rates of death (6.3% vs 4.3%, P < .001), serious adverse events (17.3% vs 13.5%, P < .001), minor complications (34.3% vs 29.1%, P < .001), extended postoperative lengths of stay (30.2% vs 25.9%, P < .001), readmissions (11.9% vs 8.4%, P < .001), thromboembolic complications (3.0% vs 1.6%, P < .001), and perioperative transfusions (31.5% vs 26.4%, P < .001) compared to native hip fracture patients.

CONCLUSION

Pathologic hip fractures result in significantly higher complication rates than native hip fractures after surgical treatment, suggesting that guidelines for native hip fractures may not be generalizable for pathologic hip fractures. Orthopedic surgeons should closely monitor these patients for deep vein thrombosis, utilize blood sparing techniques, and employ a multidisciplinary approach to help manage and prevent a more heterogenous profile of postsurgical complications.

Efficacy and Safety of Tranexamic Acid in Reducing Blood Loss of Lower Extremity Osteotomy in Peri-acetabulum and High Tibia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective

To assess the efficacy of tranexamic acid (TXA) in reducing total blood loss and transfusion, and the risk of thromboembolic events in patients undergoing periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) and high tibial osteotomy (HTO).

Methods

A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Embase (Ovid), Medline (Ovid), and Web of Science. ClinicalTrials.gov, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), and Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) conference proceedings were also searched to gain more eligible studies. The primary outcome measure was total blood loss and the blood transfusion rate of the TXA group versus control. The meta‐analysis was conducted using the RevMan 5.3 and Stata 14.0 software.

Results

A total of six studies were included involving 665 patients. Three studies were PAO, and the other three were HTO. The total blood loss in PAO (WMD, −330.49; 95% CI, −390.16 to −270.83; P < 0.001) and HTO (WMD, −252.50; 95% CI, −356.81 to −148.18; P < 0.001) and hemoglobin decline (WMD, −0.74; 95% CI, −1.09 to −0.38; P < 0.001) were significantly less in the TXA group than in the control group. TXA could reduce transfusion rates in PAO (RR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.75; P = 0.01) but had no effect on HTO (RR, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.01 to 4.10; P = 0.30). The wound complications (RR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.13 to 2.94; P = 0.54) had no significant difference between TXA and control groups.

Conclusions

This meta‐analysis demonstrated that TXA reduces total blood loss and hemoglobin decline in patients undergoing PAO and is safe, but it has little benefit in regard to reducing transfusion rates or wound complications in HTO, so TXA might be unwarranted for routine use for HTO.

Comparison of efficacy and safety between oral and intravenous administration of tranexamic acid for primary total knee/hip replacement: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial

Background

Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been demonstrated to reduce blood loss following primary total knee and hip arthroplasty. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of oral and intravenous tranexamic acid for primary total knee and hip arthroplasty.

Methods

The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant studies published before June 20, 2019. Studies clearly reporting a comparison of oral and intravenous TXA were selected, and total blood loss (TBL), the decline in hemoglobin (DHB), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), intramuscular venous thrombosis (IVT), the length of hospital stay, and the transfusion rate were evaluated. The weighted mean differences and relative risks were calculated using a fixed-effects or random-effects model.

Results

Ten studies involving 1140 (oral 557; intravenous 583) patients were included in this meta-analysis. There was no significant difference in terms of total blood loss, the decline in hemoglobin, the length of hospital stay, the incidence of DVT or IVT, or the transfusion rate between the oral and intravenous groups, and five studies reported that oral TXA was associated with a lower cost.

Conclusion

Our research suggests that compared with intravenous use of TXA, the oral approach has similar clinical outcomes and is less expensive for total joint replacement patients.

Preparing the femur before the acetabulum does not reduce total blood loss in primary total hip replacement

Introduction

Total hip replacement is a common and effective surgical intervention for patients with debilitating joint pain but it does represent a significant surgical intervention. For such interventions, blood loss is a potential cause of morbidity and mortality. Optimisation of surgical interventions focuses on reducing such risks. The aim of this study was to determine whether the order of surgical steps, preparing the femur before or after the acetabulum, was associated with the amount of total blood loss in total hip replacement.

Methods

We performed a retrospective study of 100 patients undergoing primary total hip replacement between 2014 and 2018. This was a before and after (interrupted time series) study around the introduction of femur first preparation for total hip replacement in our unit. Fifty patients underwent a standard femoral preparation after placement of the acetabular component. The second 50 patients had the femoral canal prepared and broached prior to the acetabular component. Estimated blood volume and total blood loss associated with the perioperative period were calculated for each patient and a multiple regression analysis performed to account for other patient and surgical variables associated with perioperative blood loss.

Results

There was a small reduction in total blood loss for the group who underwent femoral preparation prior to acetabular preparation with a mean difference of 39 mls. This difference however was not clinically or statistically (p = 0.392) significant. Gender (p < 0.0001), Body Mass Index (BMI; p < 0.0001), preoperative haematocrit (p < 0.0001), postoperative haematocrit (p < 0.0001) and age (p = 0.004) were the only factors significantly associated with the total volume of blood loss.

Conclusions

Whether the femur was prepared before or after the acetabulum did not significantly predict the total volume of blood loss for primary total hip replacement.