Fig. 5

Effects of surgery on the red blood cells and platelets in placebo-and TXA-treated patients. The effects of surgery on levels of red blood cell levels (A), haemoglobin (B), haematocrit (C) and platelets (D) in placebo-treated and TXA-treated patients were determined with a haemocytometer. Surgery induced a significant decrease in red blood cell levels at POD-3 (A). In the much larger group of TXA-treated patients a significant reduction of red blood cells (A), haemoglobin (B), and haematocrit (C) was evident at all postoperative time points. There was also a significant postsurgical reduction in platelet levels at POD-3 (D). Data are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean. Placebo: n = 3, TXA n = 14. *p = 0.05, **p = 0.01, ***p = 0.001, ****p = 0.0001, comparisons of postoperative time points with preOP, repeated measures one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s correction test for multiple comparisons. FBE: full blood examination, preOP: pre-operative, EOS: end of surgery, POD-1: post-operative day 1, POD-3: post-operative day 3