Passive Leg Raising Attenuates and Delays Tourniquet Deflation-induced Hypotension and Tachycardia
Passive Leg Raising Attenuates and Delays Tourniquet Deflation-induced Hypotension and Tachycardia
Background:

 The pneumatic tourniquet is frequently used in total knee arthroplasty. Tourniquet deflation
 may result in hypotension and tachycardia caused by the rapid shift of blood volume back to
 the ischemic limb and a decrease in cardiac preload. Passive leg raising (PLR) represents a
 "self-volume challenge" that can result in an increase in preload. Such a PLR-induced
 increase in preload was hypothesized to attenuate the decrease in preload resulting from
 tourniquet deflation. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of PLR on hypotension
 and tachycardia following tourniquet deflation.

 Methods:

 Seventy patients who underwent unilateral total knee arthroplasty were assigned to either the
 bilateral PLR group (n = 35) or the control group (n = 35), in a prospective randomized
 trial. The patients' blood pressure and heart rate were measured before, during, and after
 tourniquet deflation.
This study was a prospective randomized trial, which was approved by the Institutional Review
 Board of the hospital, and informed consent was obtained from each patient enrolled in the
 study. Patients with degenerative joint disease of the knee scheduled to receive unilateral
 total knee arthroplasty were enrolled in this study within one year. Exclusion criteria were
 bilateral total knee arthroplasty, previous knee surgery, cardiac arrhythmia, uncontrolled
 hypertension (systolic blood pressure > 170 mmHg), presence of a known aortic aneurysm,
 recent stroke or myocardial infarction, unstable angina pectoris, New York Heart Association
 functional class III or IV, and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status IV to
 V. A series of numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes were used to randomly allocate participants
 to the bilateral PLR group (n = 35) or to the control group (n = 35). The trial flow chart is
 illustrated in Figure 1. The primary outcome measures were the blood pressure and heart rate
 before, during, and after tourniquet deflation.

 The sample size estimate, based on previous studies8, indicated that 35 patients were
 required for each group in order to have a 90% chance of detecting a significant difference
 (P = 0.05, two-sided) between the groups. Patients were premedicated with fentanyl and/or
 midazolam for anxiolysis 5 min before induction of anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia was
 performed via the L3-L4 or L4-L5 interspace with a single dose of isobaric bupivacaine. A
 drop in systolic blood pressure to lower than 90 mmHg triggered ephedrine administration
 during the study.

 Figure 2 illustrates the study protocol, which was divided into 4 steps. Blood pressure and
 heart rate were measured at each time point (T1-T17) throughout the protocol. Systolic blood
 pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean blood pressure (MBP) were measured
 using noninvasive, automated techniques and a continuous electrocardiogram allowed
 measurements of heart rate. In addition, the doses of bupivacaine and ephedrine
 administrated, as well as the upper anesthetized level, and total fluid volume administered
 before tourniquet deflation were recorded.

 Step 1 (T1-T5): In both groups, after induction of spinal anesthesia, the patient was placed
 in a supine position with a well-padded proximal tourniquet. The leg was exsanguinated with
 an Esmarch bandage, and a pneumatic tourniquet was applied and inflated to a pressure of
 280-300 mm Hg, followed by the arthroplastic surgery. Recordings and measurements were taken
 at 30, 15, 10, 5, and 1 min before bilateral PLR (step 2).

 Step 2 (T6-T7): In the PLR group, at the completion of the total knee arthroplasty, bilateral
 PLR was achieved by raising the patient's legs to a 45 degree angle. Recordings and
 measurements were taken 2 and 4 min after initiation of PLR. In the control patients, the
 legs were left in the baseline position, but hemodynamic measurements were still taken at
 time points corresponding to those in the PLR group.

 Step 3 (T8-T10): In the PLR group, PLR was maintained and the tourniquet was deflated and
 hemodynamic recordings and measurements were taken at 2, 4, and 6 min after tourniquet
 deflation. At this step, blood pressure and heart rate were recorded for 6 min because
 previous reports have suggested that the nadir of the blood pressure occurred within 5 min
 after tourniquet deflation. In the control group, the tourniquet was deflated while the
 patient's legs remained in the baseline position and hemodynamic measurements were obtained
 at points corresponding to those in the PLR patients.

 Step 4 (T11-T17): In the PLR group, the legs were returned to the baseline position and a
 fourth set of recordings and hemodynamic measurements were obtained 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30, and
 60 min later. In the control group, the legs remained in the baseline position and
 corresponding hemodynamic measurements were obtained.

 Statistical Methods Differences in demographic characteristics and perioperative data between
 the PLR and control patients were examined using chi-square or Student's t tests, depending
 on the measure. Hemodynamic measurements were analyzed over time by comparing the T6-T17
 measurements to the T5 measurements in each group. Intragroup hemodynamic changes were
 analyzed using repeated measures one-way analysis of variance, followed by the Fisher's
 least-significant difference post-test. The generalized estimating equations test was used to
 compare the differences between groups (PLR and control group), with respect to blood
 pressure and heart rate measurements. The difference in the length of time from tourniquet
 deflation to the nadir in blood pressure between the groups was determined by Student's t
 test. The SPSS software (Version 15 SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois) was used for all analyses.
 All the tests were two-sided, and P < 0.05 was considered significant.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Patients with degenerative joint disease of the knee scheduled to receive unilateral
 total knee arthroplasty

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  bilateral total knee arthroplasty, previous knee surgery, cardiac arrhythmia,
 uncontrolled hypertension (systolic blood pressure > 170 mmHg), presence of a known
 aortic aneurysm, recent stroke or myocardial infarction, unstable angina pectoris, New
 York Heart Association functional class III or IV, and American Society of
 Anesthesiologists physical status IV to V