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World J Orthop. Jun 18, 2022; 13(6): 555-563
Published online Jun 18, 2022. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v13.i6.555
Topical use of tranexamic acid: Are there concerns for cytotoxicity?
Ioannis Gkiatas, Aristeidis-Panagiotis Kontokostopoulos, Spyridon E Tsirigkakis, Ioannis Kostas-Agnantis, Ioannis Gelalis, Anastasios Korompilias, Emilios Pakos
Ioannis Gkiatas, Aristeidis-Panagiotis Kontokostopoulos, Spyridon E Tsirigkakis, Ioannis Kostas-Agnantis, Ioannis Gelalis, Anastasios Korompilias, Emilios Pakos, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45500, Epirus, Greece
Author contributions: Gkiatas I and Kontokostopoulos AP wrote the manuscript; Gkiatas I, Kontokostopoulos AP, and Pakos E performed the data research; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Aristeidis-Panagiotis Kontokostopoulos, MD, Academic Research, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Ioannina, Stavrou Niarchou, Ioannina 45500, Epirus, Greece. ariskontok9@gmail.com
Received: February 10, 2022
Peer-review started: February 10, 2022
First decision: April 13, 2022
Revised: April 23, 2022
Accepted: June 14, 2022
Article in press: June 14, 2022
Published online: June 18, 2022
Processing time: 126 Days and 20.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic agent and is associated with decreased blood loss in surgical procedures. It is widely used in major orthopaedic procedures in order to decrease blood transfusion needs. TXA can be administered intravenously; however, topical administration of the drug increases concentration at the operative site. There are concerns that this increased concentration may cause toxicity in the cartilage tissue. In this review, we present the recent literature regarding the cytotoxic effects of the topical administration of TXA.