Minimizing tourniquet pressure in pediatric anterior cruciate ligament reconstructive surgery: a blinded, prospective randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Tourniquet cuff pressures in pediatric patients are commonly set at standard pressures. Recent evidence on adult subjects has shown that safer and more effective cuff pressures can be achieved by measuring limb occlusion pressure (LOP) and using a wide contour cuff. There is little evidence validating these techniques in children. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate if a difference in tourniquet cuff pressure can be achieved in a pediatric population using a wide contour cuff in conjunction with measured LOP when compared with a standard cuff and pressure. METHODS Subjects aged 10 to 17 years that underwent anterior cruciate ligament repair were included and randomized into either the control group or the experimental LOP group using variable block randomization. The tourniquet cuff was inflated to 300 mm Hg in the control group or to the recommended tourniquet pressure based on LOP measurement in the LOP group. The surgeon was blinded to cuff selection, application, and pressure throughout the surgical procedure. Immediately after the surgical procedure, the surgeon rated the quality of the bloodless field on a visual analog scale. This study was powered as an effectiveness trial, and intention to treat analysis was used. RESULTS After a planned interim analysis at midpoint, complete data were recorded for 11 (control group) and 10 (LOP group) patients. The quality of the surgical field was not different between the groups (P = 0.053). There was a statistically significant difference in the mean cuff pressure between the control (300 mm Hg) and the LOP (151 mm Hg) groups (P < 0.001). We ran the same analysis comparing the LOP data with the hypothetical control data of 250 mm Hg, and our results remained statistically significant (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The use of an automatic LOP measurement with the use of wide contour cuffs can significantly reduce mean tourniquet cuff pressures in pediatric patients compared with the typical practice of 300 or 250 mm Hg without compromising the quality of the surgical field. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level 1, prospective randomized controlled trial.