Observational studyActa orthopaedica2023
Use of a tourniquet is not associated with increased risk of venous thromboembolism after fast-track total knee arthroplasty: a prospective multicenter cohort study of 16,250 procedures.
Observational study in Acta orthopaedica, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- [Prevention of venous thromboembolism in orthopaedics and traumatology: Austrian interdisciplinary consensus statement 2026].Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2026Article
- Association of tourniquet use on short-term implant survival after primary total knee arthroplasty: a study of 24,249 knees from the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register.Acta orthopaedica · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
background and purposeVenous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious postoperative complication after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Use of a tourniquet has shown conflicting results for risk of VTE after TKA. We aimed to investigate the associated risk of VTE after TKA using tourniquet in a fast-track set-up as no previous data exists. PATIENTS AND
methodsWe performed an observational cohort study from 9 fast-track centers including unilateral primary TKA from 2010-2017 with prospective collection of preoperative risk-factors and complete 90-day follow-up. Use of a tourniquet was registered in the Danish Knee Arthroplasty Register. Postoperative VTE was identified from health records. We performed risk analyses using a mixed-effects logistic regression model adjusting for previously identified risk factors.
resultsOf the 16,250 procedures (39% males, mean age 67.9 [SD 10.0] years, median LOS 2 [interquartile range 2-3]) 12,518 (77%) were performed with a tourniquet. The annual tourniquet usage varied greatly between departments from 0% to 100%, but also within departments from 0% to 99%. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups with 52 (0.42%) VTEs in the tourniquet group vs. 25 (0.67%) in the no-tourniquet group (p = 0.06 for cumulative 90-day incidence of VTE). This association remained statistically insignificant for VTE using tourniquet after adjustment for previously identified risk factors.
conclusionWe found no association between the use of a tourniquet and increased risk of 90-day VTE after primary fast-track TKA, irrespective of the length of time for which the tourniquet was applied.
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