Rush Study: Aspirin, Rivaroxaban, Warfarin Equal in VTE Prevention

New research from the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Anesthesiology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago set out to compare aspirin, rivaroxaban, and warfarin in preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) after primary total joint arthroplasty (TJA). The work, presented at the recent meeting of The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, was a retrospective review of 1,361 patients who underwent primary total hip or knee arthroplasty at Rush.

According to the presentation, a total of 500 patients (36.7%) received aspirin, 460 (33.8%) received rivaroxaban, and 401 (29.4%) received warfarin. Patients were excluded if they underwent bilateral TJA, had incomplete data, or received other anticoagulants. Patients receiving rivaroxaban demonstrated higher estimated blood loss intraoperatively and greater transfusion rates (2+ units) during the perioperative period. The patients who received aspirin experienced lower procedural times and shorter postoperative length of stay than those in the rivaroxaban or warfarin groups

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