Comparison of preoperative continuation and discontinuation of aspirin in patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty.

Introduction: Preoperative discontinuation of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) can reduce bleeding risk but may increase the risk of perioperative cardiovascular events.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively assessed the impact of preoperative continuation versus discontinuation of aspirin compared with a control group in a cohort of 739 consecutive patients undergoing total hip (THA) (n = 396) or knee arthroplasty (TKA) (n = 343) at a tertiary hospital. Bleeding risk, local complications, orthopaedic outcome, and cardiac and cerebral complications were assessed.