. 2020 May 28;2:7. doi: 10.1186/s42490-020-00041-5

Table 1.

Key Insights and Takeaways

Key Insights
Nerve Injuries	• Transient and permanent nerve injuries can be associated with tourniquet use when not used appropriately.
Pressure Levels and Gradients	• High pressure gradients resulting from narrow cuffs and high applied pressures will cause injury • The lowest effective pressures should be applied, using wide cuffs that conform well to the limb shapes of individual patients
Tourniquet Applications	• For surgical applications, tourniquet pressure levels and tourniquet pressure gradients should be minimized to reduce tourniquet-induced nerve compression injuries. • For pre-hospital applications, there is a need for guidelines on safe tourniquet selection and patient application, and on safe transfer of patients to surgical settings. • For BFR applications, evidence arising from surgical tourniquet development, research and clinical studies should be used to reduce the potential for tourniquet-induced nerve compression injuries.

Key Insights

Nerve Injuries

• Transient and permanent nerve injuries can be associated with tourniquet use when not used appropriately.

Pressure Levels and Gradients

• High pressure gradients resulting from narrow cuffs and high applied pressures will cause injury

• The lowest effective pressures should be applied, using wide cuffs that conform well to the limb shapes of individual patients

Tourniquet Applications

• For surgical applications, tourniquet pressure levels and tourniquet pressure gradients should be minimized to reduce tourniquet-induced nerve compression injuries.

• For pre-hospital applications, there is a need for guidelines on safe tourniquet selection and patient application, and on safe transfer of patients to surgical settings.

• For BFR applications, evidence arising from surgical tourniquet development, research and clinical studies should be used to reduce the potential for tourniquet-induced nerve compression injuries.