Combined intravenous and topical tranexamic acid versus intravenous use alone in primary total knee and hip arthroplasty: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Objective: The tranexamic acid (TXA)can reduce surgical perioperative blood loss. However, the optimal regimen of tranexamic acid remains controversial. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety of combined intravenous and topical tranexamic acid versus intravenous use alone in primary total knee and hip arthroplasty. Methods: PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane library and OVID were searched. Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating combined intravenous and topical TXA versus intravenous alone in primary total knee and hip arthroplasty were included. The relative risk (RR) or the mean difference (MD) for dichotomous or continuous data was calculated respectively, and heterogeneity was analyzed by chi-square and I-2 tests. Results: A total of five RCTs met the inclusion criteria were included. The meta-analysis indicated that there was statistically significant difference favoring the combined group in total blood loss(MD = -160.90, 95% CI[-201.26, -120.54]), P < 0.00001), hemoglobin drop (MD = -0.41, 95% CI [-0.73,0.08], P = 0.01), transfusion requirements(RR = 0.29, 95% CI[0.12,0.70], P = 0.006) and length of hospital stays (MD = -0.21, 95% CI[-0.40, -0.02], P = 0.03). Both groups showed similar outcomes regarding thromboembolic complications(RR = 0.84, 95% CI[0.26,2.70], P = 0.76). Conclusions: Based on our study, Combined use of intravenous and topical TXA is more effective than intravenous TXA alone in primary total knee or hip arthroplasty without increasing the risk of thromboembolic complications. Further high quality studies with more patients are needed in future studies. (C) 2016 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.