Safety of peri-operative low-dose aspirin as a part of multimodal venous thromboembolic prophylaxis for total knee and hip arthroplasty.

Abstract

To examine whether it is safe to continue low-dose (100 mg/day) aspirin perioperatively as a part of standard multimodal venous thromboembolic prophylaxis for total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). 79 women and 60 men aged 52 to 91 years who underwent THA (n=50) or TKA (n=89) were prospectively studied. Preoperatively, 63 of the patients were on 100 mg of aspirin every morning for various medical reasons and continued in the perioperative period, except for the operation day. The remaining 76 patients were controls. Pre- and post-operative haemoglobin levels, postoperative blood drainage, and the amount of reinfused drained blood were recorded. Intra-operative blood loss and operative times were recorded for THA only. These parameters for the aspirin and control groups were compared. All the parameters, namely blood loss (intraoperative and postoperative), operative time, surgical wound healing, and drop in the haemoglobin level (determined on day 3) did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. It is safe to continue low-dose (100 mg/day) aspirin in the perioperative period as a part of multimodal prophylaxis against deep vein thrombosis.