Tranexamic Acid Use on Pain, Mobility and Bleeding Following Total Hip and Total Knee Arthroplasty

Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an anti-fibrinolytic agent developed in the 1960s that has been safely used to reduce blood loss, transfusion rates and bleeding-associated mortality in trauma, obstetrics and orthopedic surgery, including hip fracture care and arthroplasty. The efficacy and safety profile of TXA has been extensively studied in numerous clinical trials and observational studies. Its wide range of applications, combined with its favourable risk-benefit ratio, has led to the incorporation of TXA into clinical guidelines and protocols worldwide. This RCT aims to compare the current standard dosing for TXA to additional TXA doses given orally post-operatively for THA and TKA patients. The goal is to compare the following between study groups: visible bleeding on post-operative dressing, mobilization (steps, amount of time moving around), pain (visual analog scale), function (Oxford hip and knee scales) and ROM at four to six weeks.