Tranexamic Acid Improves the View for Arthroscopic Cuff Repair
TXA is a practical alternative to saline with or without epinephrine, and seems to have little downside
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Smart Practice: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is a nice alternative to epinephrine for improving visibility during arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, and may be better for operating room “flow.”
What’s the Claim?
A meta-analysis found that during arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, tranexamic acid (TXA), whether intra-articular or intravenous:
- Substantially improved visualization of the surgical field compared to not using TXA
- Decreased OR time a little bit (13 minutes per procedure on procedures that took 1.5 to 2 hours)
- Did not differ from using intra-articular epinephrine in terms of those parameters
