Elastic pneumatic tourniquet cuff can reduce postoperative thigh pain after total knee arthroplasty: a prospective randomized trial

BACKGROUND: Tourniquet use is associated with complications such as thigh pain, skin problems, and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This prospective study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the pneumatic tourniquet system using an elastic cuff and limb occlusion pressure (LOP) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The hypothesis of this study was that an elastic cuff tourniquet would result in less postoperative thigh pain after TKA. METHODS: This prospective randomized controlled trial involved a total of 98 patients who underwent primary TKA. They were randomized into two groups: tourniquet system using an elastic cuff and LOP group (Group E) and tourniquet system using a conventional-cuff and LOP group (Group C). Outcomes including postoperative thigh pain assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS), serum muscle enzymes, recommended tourniquet pressure (RTP), bloodlessness of surgical field, surgical time, incidence of DVT, and the frequency of rescue analgesic use after surgery, were compared between groups. RESULTS: Patients in Group E experienced significantly less thigh pain compared to those in Group C on postoperative day 4 (P = 0.01) and day 7 (P = 0.04). The difference between RTP and systolic blood pressure was significantly lower in Group E (P = 0.045). One case of thigh DVT was found in Group E, while no such cases were found in Group C. One and two cases of poor bloodless surgical fields were observed in Group E and Group C, respectively. There was no significant difference in surgical time, levels of serum muscle enzymes, and the frequency of rescue analgesic use between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The pneumatic tourniquet system using an elastic cuff and LOP reduced early postoperative thigh pain more effectively than did the tourniquet system using a conventional cuff and LOP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: #KCT0003149. Registered August 17, 2018 - Retrospectively registered.