• J Hooper, O P Rosaeg, B Krepski, and D H Johnson.
• Department of Anesthesiology, The Ottawa Hospital-Civic Campus, ON, Canada.
• Can J Anaesth. 1999 Oct 1; 46 (10): 925929925-9.

PurposeA double-blind clinical trial was conducted to determine the effect of inflation of a thigh tourniquet during anterior cruciate ligament repair on arthroscopic visibility, duration of procedure, postoperative pain and opioid consumption.MethodsThirty patients were randomly allocated into two groups; Group I had the thigh tourniquet inflated during surgery whereas the tourniquet was not inflated in Group II patients. All patients received standardized general anesthesia and postoperative pain management. Supplemental analgesia was provided with i.v. morphine via a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) apparatus. Verbal pain rating scores (0-10) were obtained after surgery.ResultsArthroscopic visibility was impaired in Group II patients (P < 0.0001), but this was ameliorated by increased irrigation flow or addition of epinephrine. Duration of surgery was similar in both groups. There was no difference between groups in postoperative morphine consumption (9.8 +/- 7.1 mg in Group I vs 11.4 +/- 10.2 mg in Group II) or in postoperative pain scores between groups.ConclusionInflation of a thigh tourniquet did not result in increased pain or opioid consumption after arthroscopic ACL surgery. Arthroscopic visibility was somewhat impaired in some patients without the use of tourniquet. Finally, the duration of the surgical procedure was not increased in patients where the tourniquet was not inflated during the ACL repair.

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