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Limb occlusion pressure decreased tourniquet pressure after TKA
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Researchers found using the limb-occlusion-pressure method to lower tourniquet cuff pressure decreased the incidence of postoperative wound complications after total knee arthroplasty, according to a study published in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
The investigators measured whether the limb-occlusion-pressure (LOP) method would reduce postoperative pain. They conducted a study of 164 patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty and split them into a control group with tourniquet pressure based upon the patient’s systolic blood pressure and an LOP group. The outcome measurements were postoperative pain, the quality of the bloodless field, knee motion and wound-related complications at discharge and 2-months postoperatively, according to the abstract.
The LOP group showed lower tourniquet cuff pressure and there were no differences between groups for postoperative pain or complications. However, postoperative complications were high in both groups.
The patients with wound complications had higher cuff pressures over 225 mm Hg, the authors said. They concluded that the LOP method lowered cuff pressure “without reducing the quality of the bloodless field” and patients with cuff pressure ≤ 225 mm Hg had less wound complications and no infections after surgery.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.
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