Tranexamic acid reduces haematomas but not pain after total knee arthroplasty [Article in French].

The authors present an interesting hypothesis: the reduction of bleeding and, consequently, intra-articular hematomas should reduce the pain associated with TKA. Unfortunately, this was not the case in the series presented by Chevet et al. This could be because tanexamic acid failed to reduce the hematoma volume sufficiently or because the study design was inadequate (non-randomized trial; insufficient number of patients to detect smaller changes in morphine consumption). Investigating a higher dose of tanexamic acid in a larger patient population could be of interest.

– Jean-François Hardy