Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 28, 2026
Knee Arthrocentesis in Adults
Published on: February 25, 2022
Comparative study between thromboembolism and total knee arthroplasty with or without tourniquet in rheumatoid
Koichi Wauke1, Masakazu Nagashima, Nobuya Kato
1Department of Joint Disease and Rheumatism, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan.
Introduction:
To investigate whether the occurrence of pulmonary embolism (PE) and/or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are influenced by use of a tourniquet or not in the patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Patients And Methods:
The patients were randomly divided into a with-tourniquet group (19 patients) and a without-tourniquet group (18 patients). In the first group, snowstorm-like echogenic particles were observed after deflation of the tourniquet in all patients according to the transesophageal echocardiography.
Results:
In addition, the PaO(2) level was significantly decreased. Also, one had a PE, and DVT was confirmed in two patients. In the without-tourniquet group, none of these conditions was noted.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that the use of a tourniquet will promote the risk of developing postoperative PE and/or DVT after total knee arthroplasty.
