Local application of tranexamic acid affects tendon healing negatively in the late period
Alper Çıraklı1, Pınar Naile Gürgör2, Erdal Uzun3, Havva Erdem4, Soner Çankaya5, Orhan Baş6
1Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Medical Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey
2Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey
3Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Kayseri Training and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey
4Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey
5Department of Biostatistics, Medical Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey
6Department of Anatomy, Medical Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey
Keywords: Bleeding, hemostasis, injury, recovery, tendon, tranexamic acid.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the potential adverse effects of tranexamic acid (TA) on tendon healing. Materials and methods: Twelve male Wistar-Albino rats (weighing 300 g to 350 g) were used in the study. Rats were divided into two groups. Right legs of the rats were determined as the TA group and left legs as the serum physiologic (SP) group. Bilateral Achilles tenotomy was performed and surgically repaired. For the right side, 1 mL of TA and for the left side, 1 mL of SP were applied. Half of the rats were sacrificed at the third week and the other half at the sixth week and tendon samples were collected from the extremities. Histological analyses were performed according to the tendon scoring system (Bonar classification).
Results: Tenocyte cell morphology was better in the third week in TA group than in SP group. In terms of colloidal organization, SP groups gave superior results in all weeks. An analysis of total tendon healing scores revealed that the results of the third week TA groups were superior to the results of the sixth week TA groups. Tenocyte morphology and total tendon healing scores of rats in the sixth week TA group were statistically significantly lower compared to the third week TA group (tenocyte morphology p=0.009, total score p=0.041).
Conclusion: In this study, we detected that locally administered TA has an adverse effect on tendon healing in late period. However, further immunohistochemical and biomechanical studies are needed to support these results.