Authors

Eulalia González Rodríguez1, Concepción Martínez Lara2, Rubén Morilla Romero de la Osa3

Position

1Graduada en Enfermería. Hospital de Antequera. Servicio Andaluz de Salud. Málaga 2Doctora en Nuevas Tendencias Asistenciales y de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud (Universidad de Sevilla). Departamento de Enfermería. Facultad de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Podología. Universidad de Sevilla. Enfermera. Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena. Servicio Andaluz de Salud. Sevilla3Doctor en Biomedicina y Biología Molecular (Universidad de Sevilla). Departamento de Enfermería. Facultad de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Podología de la Universidad de Sevilla. Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla. Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). Sevilla

Contact address

Concepción Martínez Lara. C/ Avenzoar, 6. 41009 Sevilla.

Contact email: cmartinez6@us.es

Abstract

Objective: to analyse the clinical benefits of the use of tranexamic acid (TXA) in patients undergoing unilateral knee arthroplasty.
Method: a cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at the surgical areas of two hospitals in Seville (Spain), in patients who had undergone knee arthroplasty using TXA and without it. Sociodemographic variables were collected, as well as clinical variables during and after surgery (pain, bleeding, self-transfusion, vital signs), and time of stay at the post-operative Resuscitation Unit and the Hospitalization Unit. Data collection was conducted through clinical records, vital sign sheets, and direct observation during follow-up. Non-parametric hypothesis contrast tests were used, with a p≤ 0.05 significance.
Results: the study included 72 patients: 35 received TXA and 37 did not. Most participants were 70-to-79-year-old women. In both arms, there was similar laterality of the operated knee, with prevalence of the left one (60% in those receiving TXA and 51.4% in those who did not). A lower proportion of persons with hypertension (p= 0.011) and who required self-transfusion (p< 0.001) was found among those receiving TXA. This arm also showed a reduction in the times of stay in the Resuscitation and Hospitalization Units, bleeding and pain, and an increase in oxygen saturation (everything p< 0.05).
Conclusions: TXA administration causes significant improvements in clinical signs and post-surgical recovery, and reduces the hospital stay, which could result in improvements in the workflow and associated costs.

Keywords:

Tranexamic acid; antifibrinolytics; Knee replacement arthroplasty; post-operative complications; post-operative care; blood transfusion

Versión en Español

Título:

Beneficios del ácido tranexámico en pacientes intervenidos de artroplastia de rodilla unilateral