Abstract
One common complication after joint arthroplasty is venous thromboembolism (VTE). Therefore, it is essential to measure the changes in coagulation and fibrinolysis in order to predict VTE among patients who underwent joint arthroplasty. This study aimed to identify potential useful biomarkers for prognosing to VTE. This was a prospective cohort study enrolling 83 patients who underwent joint arthroplasty. The levels of
Keywords
Introduction
One of the most common complications after total joint arthroplasty is venous thromboembolism (VTE), and its incidence rate is relatively high.
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–5
Clinical trials show that the rate of deep VTE is 42% to 57% in Western countries and 23% to 42% in Japan among patients who received no antithrombotic prophylaxis after total hip arthroplasty.
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The early diagnosis of VTE after joint arthroplasty is of great importance for predicting the prognosis and outcome. Ultrasound imaging has been found to be useful in diagnosing VTE. According to American College of Chest Physicians 9 (ACCP 9), venography and ultrasound are used only when patients had developed VTE and exhibited clinical symptoms, such as pain, swelling, and so on.
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However, during the early phase of postoperative joint surgery, approximately 30% to 50% patients in Western countries and approximately 10% to 30% of patients in Asian countries have small thrombus without any clinical symptoms.
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–13
These asymptomatic small emboli tend to grow and be fatal if the patients do not receive appropriate precautionary measures.
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Joint arthroplasty can lead to an unbalance between coagulation and fibrinolysis,
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and the disturbances in coagulation and fibrinolysis occur before the formation of emboli.
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–19
Hence, the coagulation and fibrinolysis indices may become abnormal prior to imagological examination. Therefore, it is necessary to identify accurate biomarkers that reflect the changes in coagulation and fibrinolysis in order to predict the occurrence of postoperative VTE, especially symptomatic and fatal pulmonary embolism.
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According to ACCP, antithrombotic drugs are recommended rather than no antithrombotic prophylaxis for a minimum of 10 to 14 days. 8 Studies have demonstrated that aspirin provided comparable VTE prophylaxis compared to factor Xa inhibitors, enoxaparin, and warfarin with the lowest risk of bleeding. 33 –36 And using antiplatelet therapy does not affect the changes in coagulation and fibrinolysis. In our hospital, surgeons choose aspirin as the antithrombotic treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to identify a prognostic marker for VTE among patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty.
Patients and Methods
Study Design
This cohort study was carried out prospectively.
Patient Recruitment
Patients who had undergone total joint arthroplasty were included in this study. They were confirmed to have no VTE before surgery according to the results of ultrasound scan. For exclusion criteria, those with activated inflammation, cancer, activated bleeding or VTE, atrial fibrillation, pregnancy, thrombophilia, and warfarin or other antithrombotic therapy were excluded from the study. A total of 100 patients who underwent joint arthroplasty were recruited at the Department of Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital from October 2017 to October 2018. After excluding 17 patients based on our exclusion criteria, 83 patients, including 27 males and 56 females, were ultimately enrolled. All patients received 100 mg of aspirin on day 1 after surgery.
Ultrasound Examination
All patients underwent bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasonography on preoperative day 0 and postoperative day 6. According to the results of ultrasound scan on day 6, all patients were divided into 2 groups: VTE group and non-VTE group.
Biomarker Analysis
Blood samples were collected from the antecubital vein into a tube containing 3.2% trisodium citrate in the morning of days 0, 1, 3, and 6 before and after the operation. Then, the samples were tested immediately after they were collected. Measurement of
Statistical Analysis
Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 23.0 and Graphpad Prism 7.0. All data were presented as median (2.5th, 97.5th percentiles). The levels of
Results
The presence of VTE in 35 of the 83 patients was confirmed by ultrasound examination within the first 7 days after surgery, and their demographic and clinical characteristics are presented in Table 1. The measurement results of
Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients With VTE and Non-VTE Patients.a
Abbreviations: AVN, avascular necrosis; OA, osteoarthritis; RA, rheumatic arthritis; VTE, venous thromboembolism.
a Data are expressed as median (2.5th, 97.5th percentiles).
Concentrations of d-Dimer, TAT, TM, PIC, t-PAIC, and TAT/PIC on Day 0 (Before Surgery), 1, 3, and 6 After Surgery.a
Abbreviations: PIC, plasmin–α2-antiplasmin complex; TAT, thrombin–antithrombin complex; TM, thrombomodulin; t-PAIC, tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor complex; VTE, venous thromboembolism.
a Data are expressed as median (2.5th, 97.5th percentiles).
b P < .05.

(A-D) Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of DD3, DD6, TAT3, and TAT6. DD3 indicates the level of

The level (A) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (B) of TAT6/PIC6. PIC 6 indicates the level of plasmin–α2-antiplasmin complex on postoperative day 6; TAT 6, the level of thrombin–antithrombin complex on postoperative day 6.
The reference range of
Discussions
Venous thromboembolism is a common and serious complication after joint arthroplasty.
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In this study, nearly 45% of patients who underwent joint arthroplasty had VTE even though they had received antithrombotic prophylaxis. From this point of view, the presence of VTE should be diagnosed as early as possible in order to prevent this severe complication. During the early stage of VTE, the disturbances in coagulation and fibrinolysis occur before the activation of thrombosis.
1,9,17
–19
Hence, the coagulation indices may become abnormal prior to imagological examination. Moreover, joint arthroplasty can lead to an unbalance between coagulation and fibrinolysis.
6,16
The changes in TAT,
In this study, we monitor the time series data of coagulation, fibrinolysis, and endothelial-related indices on days 0, 1, 3, and 6 days before and after surgery. Although the levels of
As aforementioned, the occurrence of VTE is caused by an unbalance between coagulation and fibrinolysis. Thus, we designed a new index of TAT/PIC6 to comprehensively explain the ratio of procoagulation/fibrinolysis on the sixth day after surgery. The area under the ROC curves of TAT/PIC6 was 0.78 and its cutoff level was 4.03 ng/TU, with the sensitivity and specificity of 97.14% and 33.33%, respectively. Moreover, its positive and negative predictive values were 51.52% and 94.12%, respectively. The relatively high sensitivity and negative predictive values make it a useful index for prognosing VTE. However, imaging is still needed to confirm the presence of VTE. Indeed, TAT/PIC6 index can help identify potentially high-risk patients with VTE who need antithrombotic therapy and coagulation monitoring. In addition, these biomarkers are easier and more convenient to be measured compared to ultrasound and venography. In clinical practice, it is of particular significance to prevent VTE in patients undergoing joint arthroplasty at the earliest. 3 In view of this, the early diagnosis of VTE is of particular importance for the patients who are asymptomatic following joint arthroplasty. According to ACCP 9, routine ultrasound screening is not recommended if the patients have asymptomatic VTE. 8 Alternatively, TAT/PIC6 may be a great option for VTE prognosis, and it can provide guidance to surgeons to prevent VTE after joint arthroplasty.
Although the research has reached its aims, there are some unavoidable limitations. In this study, we only monitor 7 days of coagulation indices and imagological examination during patient hospitalization. However, VTE may occur within the first 3 months after joint arthroplasty. Besides, the number of participants is small. However, our study demonstrates the importance of TAT/PIC, and TAT/PIC is a prognostic index for VTE in joint arthroplasty. Thus, the next step of our research is to recruit more patients and follow up these patients in order to establish a complete perspective model of VTE in patients undergoing joint arthroplasty.
In conclusion, patients who received joint arthroplasty tend to have a high risk of VTE, which is caused by the unbalance between coagulation and fibrinolysis. In addition to TAT and
Footnotes
Authors’ Note
Yuying Chen, Jian Liu, and Jun Wu designed and performed the research. Yuying Chen, Yu Su, Huiru Zhao, Yujing Zhao, Meng Wen, Shan Lu, and Wenjie Zhang acquired the data. Yu Su, Huiru Zhao, Yujing Zhao, Meng Wen, and Shan Lu provided valuable technical assistance. Yuying Chen, Jian Liu, and Jun Wu analyzed and interpreted the data and wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed and made critical revisions and approved final version of the manuscript. Yuying Cheng and Jian Liu contributed equally. The study was conducted with approval of the Institution’s Ethics Committee (project number 201904-06).
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
