Clinical efficacy of tranexamic acid administrationviadifferent routes during total hip arthroplasty: study protocol for a prospective randomized controlled trial

Background: Intravenous injection or topical application of tranexamic acid during total hip arthroplasty has been shown to effectively reduce blood loss. There is no consensus on differences in clinical efficacy and safety between these two administration methods. To determine the optimal clinical efficacy of tranexamic acid during hip replacement, we will compare differences between these two administration methods during total hip arthroplasty. Methods/Design: The study protocol is a prospective, paired (1:1:1), double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial. A total of 174 patients who will receive hip replacement at Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China will be randomly divided into three groups, with 58 patients per group. Before the end of surgery, in the placebo group, 60 mL of physiological saline will be used to soak the articular cavity for at least 3 minutes and then be sucked away; in the topical tranexamic acid group, 60 mL of physiological saline containing 3 g tranexamic acid will be used and then sucked away; in the intravenous tranexamic acid group, 100 mL of physiological saline containing 10 mg/kg tranexamic acid will be intravenously administered 15 minutes before surgery and then again 3 hours later. The primary outcome is total blood loss on postoperative day 3, which is calculated using Nadler's and Gross's formula. Secondary outcomes include blood transfusion rates, drainage output within 2 days postoperation, amount of human serum albumin used during hospitalization, postoperative blood coagulation indices, and incidences of deep venous thrombosis and other thromboembolic events during postoperative day 1-week 6. Discussion: This protocol is powered to provide reference information for the rational use of tranexamic acid by comparing clinical efficacy of the drug between intravenous and topical administration routes. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02312440; registered on 28 November 2014. Ethical approval: This study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (permission No. (2014)-47-2) and will be performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.