The efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in revision total knee arthroplasty: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND There is no consistent conclusion regarding the efficacy and safety of the intravenous administration of tranexamic acid (TXA) for reducing blood loss in revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We performed a meta-analysis of comparative trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TXA in revision TKA. METHODS We conducted a search of PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library and Web of Science for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs. Two authors selected the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the risk of bias independently. A pooled meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS Four non-RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis indicated that the use of TXA was related to significantly less transfusion requirements (RD = -0.25; 95% CI: -0.43 to -0.08; P = 0.005), drainage volume (MD = -321.07; 95% CI: -445.13 to -197.01, P = 0.005), hemoglobin reduction (MD = -0.52; 95% CI: -0.79 to -0.25, P = 0.0001), and length of hospital stay (MD = -2.36; 95% CI: -4.00 to -0.71, P = 0.005). No significant differences in the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) were noted. CONCLUSIONS The use of TXA for patients undergoing revision TKA may reduce blood loss and transfusion requirements without increasing the risk of postoperative venous thromboembolism. Due to the limited quality of the currently available evidence, more high-quality RCTs are required.