Surgical Tourniquets and Cerebral Emboli

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Status: Completed

Conditions: RA; Osteoarthritis; Trauma

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02240732

STCE2.0

Details and patient eligibility

About

BACKGROUND In 2012 76,497 primary total knee (TKR) replacements were performed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland . Traditionally TKR surgery is undertaken with the aid of a surgical tourniquet. A surgical tourniquet is an occlusive device applied around a patient's leg. The tourniquet squeezes the leg (including blood vessels within the leg) and can therefore reduce the amount of bleeding that occurs while it is inflated. An intraoperative tourniquet can therefore help to improve the surgical field of view. Although the majority of surgeons prefer to undertake TKR surgery using a tourniquet a small but increasing number are now not pursuing these devices.

There is robust evidence that the risk of deep vein thrombosis is increased if a tourniquet is used for TKR surgery. In addition embolic material in the venous system have been observed following TKR surgery and have been noted to be present in the right atrium with transoesophageal (TOE) echo intra-operatively. , Significant and potentially life threatening emboli have been documented to enter the cerebral circulation via pulmonary arterio-venous shunts and patent foramen ovale (PFO) (27% of patients at autopsy) , . The clinical manifestations of cerebral emboli post tourniquet deflation in TKR are not fully understood. Fat embolism syndrome and post-operative confusion in TKR patients may be the result of emboli formed during a TKR. ,

AIM

• Is there evidence of emboli entering the cerebral circulation following tourniquet deflation in TKR surgery?
• Is there evidence of MRI detectable brain lesions and or any clinical change in cognition compared in patients undergoing TKR surgery with a tourniquet compared to those that do not have a tourniquet?

Enrollment: 12 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• i.Aged >18
• ii.Undergoing elective TKR
• iii.Able to give written informed consent
• iv.No contraindications to MR imaging

Exclusion criteria

• i. Ages <16
• ii. Not able to give written informed consent
• iv. Contraindications to MR imaging

Trial design

12 participants in 1 patient group

Total knee replacement patients

Description:

Patients who are due to have a total knee replacement will be studied to look for the presence of Emboli. Observational with imaging.