A Cohort Study of Rivaroxaban Combined with D-Dimer Dynamic Monitoring in the Prevention of Deep Venous Thrombosis after Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Dong Yongyong , Duan Guangbin , Wang Huihui , Ru Jia , Cui Yong 
Published: April 2022

Objective. To explore the cohort study of rivaroxaban combined with D-dimer dynamic monitoring in the prevention of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after knee arthroplasty. Methods. Eighty-four patients with knee osteoarthritis who went through total knee arthroplasty from June 2019 to June 2021 in our hospital were arbitrarily assigned into the study group and the control group. The patients in the control group were cured with rivaroxaban anticoagulation after operation, and the study group was cured with dynamic monitoring of D-dimer on the basis of the control group. The incidence of postoperative DVT, pulmonary embolism (PE), and bleeding complications (incision ecchymosis and bleeding events) were compared. The related indexes such as drainage volume and blood transfusion volume were compared. The levels of activated partial prothrombin time (APPT), prothrombin time (PT), and D-dimer were dynamically monitored before and after operation. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was adopted to assess the degree of postoperative incision pain, the level of limb swelling before and after operation was measured, the circumference difference of affected limb was calculated, the ecchymosis area was assessed in the form of nine-palace grid, and the scores were compared. Results. According to the comparison of VAS score, there exhibited no remarkable difference before operation and on the first day after operation, but the VAS score decreased after operation, and the VAS score of the study group on the 3rd day, 7th day, and 14th day after operation was remarkably lower compared to the control group (

P
<
0.05

). There exhibited no remarkable difference in drainage volume (

P
>
0.05

), but the blood transfusion volume and total blood loss in the study group were remarkably lower (

P
<
0.05

). There exhibited no remarkable difference in the level of PT on the 3rd day before operation and on the 3rd day after operation, but on the 7th day and 14th day after operation, the level of PT in the study group was remarkably higher (

P
<
0.05

). The level of PT in the study group was remarkably higher (

P
<
0.05

). There exhibited no remarkable difference in the level of APPT on the 3rd day before operation and on the 3rd day after operation, but on the 7th day and 14th day after operation, the level of APPT in the study group was remarkably higher (

P
<
0.05

). The level of APPT in the study group was remarkably higher (

P
<
0.05

). There exhibited no remarkable difference in the level of plasma D-dimer before operation (

P
>
0.05

). The level of plasma D-dimer in the study group was lower (

P
<
0.05

). In terms of the postoperative ecchymosis area score, the ecchymosis area score decreased remarkably after operation. Furthermore, the ecchymosis area score of the study group was remarkably lower (

P
<
0.05

). In terms of the swelling degree of the affected limb, there exhibited no remarkable difference in thigh circumference and calf circumference before operation (

P
>
0.05

), but after operation, the thigh circumference difference and calf circumference difference decreased, and the thigh circumference difference and calf circumference difference in the study group were lower (

P
<
0.05

). The incidence of DVT in the study group was 16.67%, while that in the control group was 38.10%. No PE occurred in the two groups at the early stage after operation. There were 3 cases of incision ecchymosis, 1 case of bleeding event (incision oozing) in the study group, 11 cases of incisional ecchymosis, and 2 cases of bleeding event in the control group. In 3 patients with incisional bleeding, there were no obvious abnormalities in routine blood examination and blood coagulation indexes. The patients were given wound pressure bandaging and stopped using anticoagulants and changing wound dressings every day, all of which disappeared within 5 days. The incidence of early postoperative DVT and bleeding complications in the study group was lower (

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. Rivaroxaban combined with D-dimer dynamic monitoring has high clinical value in preventing DVT after knee arthroplasty and can effectively reduce the amount of blood loss during operation and the incidence of postoperative DVT, PE, and bleeding complications, which is worth popularizing to reduce the area of ecchymosis and the degree of pain after operation and shorten the recovery process.