Intravenous versus Intra-Articular Tranexamic Acid in Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Prospective Randomised Double Blinded Non-Inferiority Trial

Introduction Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been shown to be effective in reducing post-operative blood loss after hip replacement surgery. Clinicians can be reluctant to administer intravenous (IV) TXA to high risk patients and intra-articular (IA) administration has been proposed as an alternative mode of delivery. This study was conducted to compare the efficacy of IV versus IA administration of TXA.   Methods This prospective, double blinded, randomised non-inferiority trial, compared 69 patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) who received either 3 doses of 15mg/kg of IV TXA or 3 g of IA TXA after capsular closure. The primary outcomes were change in Hb and the rate of blood transfusion. The secondary outcome was the rate of VTE.   Results The mean haemoglobin level change from pre-operative to day 1 post-operative for the IV group was 26.7g/L and for IA group was 27.3g/L. No statistically significant difference was detected between the two groups (p=0.82). No patients required a transfusion or developed a VTE.   Conclusions IA administration of TXA can be equally effective as IV in the reduction of blood loss and the prevention of post-operative anaemia in primary THA.