International orthopaedics
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
The timing of tourniquet release and its influence on blood loss after total knee arthroplasty.
We performed a prospective, randomized study on 76 patients (82 knees) scheduled for total knee arthroplasty to determine the effect of tourniquet release and hemostasis on the peri- and postoperative blood loss. Patients were randomly divided in two groups. Posterior cruciate retaining tricompartmental total knee prostheses were used in all. ⋯ Mean blood drainage was 880.85 ml (320-1,315) in group 1 and 745.36 ml (220-1,175) in group 2 ( p=0.03). The mean number of blood transfusions given, hemoglobin and hematocrit values, operation time, and tourniquet time were similar in both groups. Intraoperative tourniquet release and hemostasis does not reduce total blood loss in total knee arthroplasty.