A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Topical Administration of Fibrin Sealant in Total Hip Arthroplasty

Patients who undergo total hip arthroplasty (THA) may experience a large amount of blood loss. The objective of our study is to include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and compare the clinical outcomes of fibrin sealant (FS) versus placebo after a THA. In October 2015, we searched the following databases: Medline, Embase, PubMed, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Web of Science, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the China Wanfang database and Google Scholar. Finally, seven studies that included 679 patients met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis indicated that the topical administration of FS was associated with a reduction of the need for transfusion compared to the control group (P = 0.05). And topical FS will reduce total blood loss after THA (P = 0.0003) and blood loss in drainage (P = 0.002). However, there was no significant difference in terms of the intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.62) and the rate of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), fever, pain, anemia, hematoma and oozing. In conclusion, the use of FS in patients who are undergoing THA may reduce perioperative blood loss and attenuate the decrease in Hb. Furthermore, FS do not decrease the intraoperative blood loss without an increase in the risk of postoperative DVT, fever, pain, anemia, hematoma and oozing.