Tranexamic acid administration for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: A prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of tranexamic acid versus placebo after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.This prospective, double-blind, and randomized study involved 66 patients who consecutively underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair from 2020 to 2021 at our hospital. Thirty-three shoulders each were randomly assigned to the tranexamic acid and control groups. In the former group, 1000 mg of tranexamic acid (20 mL) was administered intravenously 10 min before surgery and the same volume of normal saline (20 mL) was administered intravenously in the control group. We evaluated visual clarity; visual analog scale pain scores at rest, during activity, and at night; the circumference and diameter of the shoulder joint in the groups before and after the surgery at 1, 2, and 3 days, and 1 week; estimated perioperative blood loss; and operative time. Visual clarity was rated using a numeric rating scale from grade 1 (poor) to grade 3 (clear) every 15 min throughout the surgery. We compared and analyzed the results between the groups. Statistical significance was set at a p-value of <0.05.Visual clarity was found to be significantly better in the tranexamic acid group, with a greater percentage of grade 3 visual clarity (75.6 ± 11.2% vs 68.1 ± 13.4%, p = 0.045). The visual analog scale scores at rest and at night in the control group were significantly lower than those in the tranexamic acid group for 1 week postoperatively (13.8 ± 14.8 vs 5 ± 9.3, p = 0.008, 36.1 ± 23.3 vs 19.3 ± 24, p = 0.012). The circumference and diameter of the shoulder joint, estimated perioperative blood loss, and operative time were not significantly different between the two groups.Intravenous administration of tranexamic acid is an alternative way to improve visual clarity in arthroscopic rotator cuff repair; however, there are no other significant differences compared to the administration of placebo.