by Aaron Hoffman (Medical Writer) A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials wa conducted by researchers at the Musculoskeletal Research Unit, Bristol Medical School, Southmead Hospital, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom and National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, Bristol, United Kingdom to see the "effectiveness of aspirin thrombophylaxis for patients undergoing major joint replacement".
The computer-based searches combined terms and combinations of keywords related to the population (eg, hip replacement, knee replacement, hip arthroplasty, and knee arthroplasty), drug intervention (eg, aspirin, heparin, clexane, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and warfarin), and outcome (eg, venous thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and bleeding) in humans.
This study included randomized-controlled studies assessing the effectiveness and safety of aspirin for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis compared with other anticoagulants in adults undergoing total hip replacement and total knee replacement.
Interetingly, the study showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the risk of VTE, DVT, and pulmonary embolism (PE) between aspirin and other anticoagulants.
Aspirin had a VTE risk not statistically significantly different from low-molecular-weight heparin or rivaroxaban (Xarelto).
The authors concluded from this major study that "aspirin did not differ statistically significantly from other anticoagulants used for VTE prophylaxis after total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR).