Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of orthopedic operating room personnel regarding the use of pneumatic tourniquets

by Gang Zu, Quan Zhang, Genjun Chen, Enfeng Yao, Jun Fei, Guihe Han, Guanmin Tian

Pneumatic tourniquets (PTs) play a crucial role in hemostasis during orthopedic surgery. This study aimed to investigate the current knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of orthopedic operating room personnel concerning the use of PTs.

This cross-sectional study was conducted from Jul. 2023 to Aug. 2023. An online questionnaire was used to collect demographic information and KAP score data of the orthopedic operating room personnel from Hangzhou Regional Hospitals.

A total of 336 participants included orthopedic physicians (37.8%), orthopedic nurses (31.5%), anesthesiologists (8.9%), operating room nurses (19.9%) and medical students (1.8%). The median knowledge score was 28.5 (24, 32), with a maximum score of 38; the median attitude score was 31 (28, 35), of a maximum of 35; the median practice score was 41 (36, 44), of a maximum of 45. Correlation analysis showed links between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.388, p<0.001), knowledge and practice (r = 0.401, p<0.001), and attitude and practice (r = 0.485, p<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that female gender (OR = 0.294, 95% CI: 0.167–0.520; p<0.001), working in a specialized hospital (OR = 0.420, 95% CI: 0.219–0.803; p = 0.009), and occupation as a surgical anesthesiologist (OR = 3.358, 95% CI: 1.466–7.694; p = 0.004) were associated with better knowledge scores. A higher educational degree (OR = 0.237, 95% CI: 0.093–0.608; p = 0.003) was associated with better practice scores. No previous training was associated with lower knowledge (OR = 0.312, 95% CI: 0.187–0.520; p<0.001) and practice (OR = 0.325, 95% CI: 0.203–0.521; p<0.001) scores.

Orthopedic personnel in this study had acceptable knowledge, attitude, and practice concerning the use of PTs; additional training and guidance might enhance proficiency.