Tranexamic acid in arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears in the shoulder: a randomized trial

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of tranexamic acid in improving intraoperative visual clarity in patients undergoing arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears.

This prospective, randomized, double-blinded clinical trial was conducted in Brazil, between July 2020 and September 2022, including patients who underwent surgery for arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears.

In total, 20 patients were included in each group: control, oral, and intravenous. There were no statistically significant differences between groups regarding intraoperative interventions, including duration of surgery, anesthesia time, number of ablations, increase in irrigation pump pressure, or total volume of irrigating solution used. Likewise, no differences were observed between groups in the assessment of visual clarity, either subjective (initial, final, and median) or objective, although the groups that received tranexamic acid had slightly lower average turbidity compared to the control group.

Tranexamic acid use did not demonstrate benefits concerning the objective/subjective visual clarity between the evaluated groups.