Intra-articular injection of tranexamic acid reduces not only blood loss but also knee joint swelling after total knee arthroplasty.

<bold>Purpose: </bold>This is a randomised controlled trial to examine whether intra-articular injection of tranexamic acid (TXA) decreases blood loss, as well as reducing leg swelling after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).<bold>Methods: </bold>We performed 100 TKA in osteoarthritis patients. At closure, a total of 2,000 mg/20 ml TXA was injected into the knee joint through a closed suction drain (TXA group). For the control group, the same volume of physiological saline was injected. The pre-operative condition of the patients, post-operative haemoglobin (Hb) levels, discharge volumes from drain, D-dimer and needs for transfusion were compared between these two groups. Furthermore, leg diameters (thigh, suprapatellar portion and calf girth) were measured pre- and post-operatively to investigate whether TXA has an influence on leg swelling after surgery.<bold>Results: </bold>The results revealed that post-operative decrease in Hb level was significantly reduced in the TXA group. Furthermore, knee joint swelling after operation was significantly suppressed in the TXA group compared to the control group.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>The results revealed intra-articular administration of TXA decreased not only blood loss, but also knee joint swelling after TKA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]