[Efficacy and safety of aspirin in prevention of venous thromboembolism after total joint arthroplasty].

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy and safety of aspirin in prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after total joint arthroplasty.

METHODS: 240 patients who received total joint arthroplasty, 157 undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and 83 undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THR), were divided into 2 basically matched groups, Group A (n = 100), receiving aspirin enteric-coated tablets 100 mg/day since the first day after operation till discharge 10-14 days after operation, and Group B (n = 140), receiving subcutaneous injection of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) once daily for 10 d. The effects and safety were evaluated.

RESULTS: 13 patients (13.0%) were diagnosed with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in Group A, 7 of them were symptomatic, 3 were suspected of pulmonary embolism, and 2 suffered from cardio-cerebrovascular event. In Group B, 10 patients (7.1%) had DVT, 4 of them were symptomatic; suspicious pulmonary embolism and cardio-cerebrovascular event were diagnosed in 3 and 8 patients respectively. There were no statistic significances between the two groups in all these aspects. The quantity of bleeding, decrease of hemoglobin, hematoma rate, and infection rate of Group A were (693.4 +/- 480.1) ml, (32.9 +/- 18.0) g/L, 1%, and 0% respectively, all not significantly different from those of Group B (648.9 +/- 521.1) ml, (36.4 +/- 21.9) g/L, 2.1%, and 1.4% respectively, all P > 0.05.

CONCLUSION: Aspirin is as effective as LMWH in venous thromboembolism prophylaxis after total joint arthroplasty. In addition, aspirin is cheap, administered orally, well tolerated, without necessity for surveillance, and with good compliance and potential of prevention of cardio-cerebrovascular events.