FRIDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Although associated with slightly more postoperative pain, the use of a tourniquet during a total knee arthroplasty procedure reduces blood loss, postoperative inflammation, and muscle damage without affecting postoperative recovery, according to research published in the Dec. 19 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
Ta-Wei Tai, M.D., of the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan, and colleagues conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled trial, involving 72 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty, to evaluate the effects of tourniquets on postoperative pain, blood loss, and muscle damage. Patients were randomly allocated to undergo knee arthroplasty with either a tourniquet or standard care (non-tourniquet).
The researchers found that, compared with those in the non-tourniquet group, patients treated with a tourniquet displayed smaller reductions in hemoglobin and hematocrit, less calculated blood loss, and smaller increases in C-reactive protein and creatine phosphokinase. Although non-tourniquet-treated patients experienced slightly less postoperative pain, swelling, rehabilitation progress, or hospital stays did not differ significantly between the groups.
"In this prospective, randomized, patient and observer-blinded controlled trial, we concluded that using a tourniquet in total knee arthroplasty saved operative time, reduced blood loss, and prevented excessive inflammation and muscle damage," the authors write. "Not using a tourniquet in total knee arthroplasty showed no benefit except a slightly faster recovery from postoperative pain."
Abstract
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