The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of
intravenous tranexamic acid on the reduction of blood loss, transfusion
rate, and early post-operative clinical outcome in total shoulder
arthroplasty. A randomised, placebo-controlled trial which included 54 patients
undergoing unilateral primary stemless anatomical or stemmed reverse
total shoulder arthroplasty was undertaken. Patients received either
100 ml saline (placebo, n = 27), or 100 ml saline together with
1000 mg of tranexamic acid (TXA, n = 27) intravenously prior to
skin incision and during wound closure. Peri-operative blood loss
via an intra-articular drain was recorded and total blood loss was
calculated. The post-operative transfusion rate was documented.
Assessment of early clinical parameters included the visual analogue
scale for pain (VAS), documentation of haematoma formation and adverse events.Aims
Patients and Methods
Aims. Currently, there is little information about the need for peri-operative
blood transfusion in patients undergoing shoulder arthroplasty. . The purpose of this study was to identify the rate of transfusion
and its predisposing factors, and to establish a blood conservation
strategy. . Methods. We identified all patients who had undergone shoulder arthroplasty
at our hospital between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2013. The
rate of transfusion was determined from the patient’s records. While
there were exceptions, patients typically underwent transfusion
if they had a level of haemoglobin of <
7.5 g/dl if asymptomatic,
<
9.0 g/dl if they had a significant cardiac history or symptoms
of dizziness or light headedness. . Multivariable regression analysis was undertaken to identify
predictors of transfusion. High- and low-risk cohorts for transfusion
were identified from a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results. Of 1174 shoulder arthroplasties performed on 1081 patients, 53
cases (4.5%) required transfusion post-operatively. Predictors of
blood transfusion were a lower pre-operative
