Tourniquet use did not negatively impact 90-day pain, functional outcomes after TKA

ByMax R. Wursta

Fact checked byGina Brockenbrough, MA

Key takeaways:

Tourniquet use during TKA had no negative impact on patients’ daily pain or functional outcomes.
A smartphone-based patient engagement platform may help track early recovery among these patients.

LAS VEGAS — According to presented results, use of a tourniquet during total knee arthroplasty had no significant negative impact on patients’ daily pain or functional outcomes for the first 90 days after surgery.

“I don't think many of us are too concerned about much bleeding on the field with or without a tourniquet,” Charles M. Lawrie, MD, said in his presentation at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting. “More concerning to us nowadays is getting our patients up and moving quickly. So, we worry about injuring soft tissues through either pressure or ischemia,” he said.

Knee infection — Use of a tourniquet during TKA had no significant negative impact on patients’ daily pain or functional outcomes. *Image: Adobe Stock*

Charles M. Lawrie

Lawrie and colleagues analyzed 54 patients who underwent primary TKA with use of a tourniquet and 53 patients who underwent the procedure without a tourniquet. According to Lawrie, tourniquets were applied at incision and removed after final prosthesis implantation.

Patients used a smartphone-based patient engagement platform (PEP) and a wearable sensor to track activity and daily step counts from 1 week preoperatively to 90 days postoperatively. Other outcomes included VAS pain scores, opioid consumption, Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and Forgotten Joint Score (FJS).

Overall, researchers found no differences in perioperative blood loss, length of surgery and length of stay among the two groups. They also noted use of a tourniquet had no impact on VAS pain scores, opioid consumption, OKS and FJS for either group.

“Tourniquet use in primary TKA using individualized inflation pressures did not have any significant impact on the trajectory of recovery including pain and functional outcomes,” Lawrie concluded. “It looks like PEPs may be a promising research tool in the future to track patients’ early recovery on a more granular level,” he added.

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Sources/Disclosures

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Source:

Lawrie CM, et al. Paper 362. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 7-11, 2023; Las Vegas.

Disclosures: Lawrie reports being a paid consultant for Medtronic, MicroPort Orthopedics and Zimmer Biomet; being a paid presenter or speaker for Kowa Pharmaceuticals; receiving IP royalties from Zimmer Biomet; and receiving stock or stock options in OPUM Technologies.

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting

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Tourniquet use did not negatively impact 90-day pain, functional outcomes after TKA

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