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Sandy Berreth, RN, MS, CASC
O R T H O P E D I C S
TAILOR MADE Cuffs come in sizes and shapes that fit
everyone from your smallest to your largest patients.
exceeds the limit set
by the user.
Tourniquet instruments also typically
include audiovisual
alarms to promptly
alert surgical staff if
the tourniquet pressure applied by the
cuff to the limb
becomes hazardously
high or low.
Many other safety features and alarms are also available. When
you're shopping for a new tourniquet system, look for these safetyrelated features and alarms:
• Self-test capabilities that provide automatic checks of system operation and calibration at each start-up.
• Self-monitoring capabilities that continuously monitor the operation
of the instrument.
• A backup battery that lets instruments continue to operate normally
during unanticipated power interruptions and/or during patient
transport.
• Alarms that detect potentially hazardous air leakage from pressurized tourniquet cuffs.
• Alarms that detect occlusions of the tubing connecting the instrument to the cuff.
• Alarms that detect the failure of a cuff to depressurize when deflation is intended.
• A cuff hazard interlock that prevents the instrument from being
inadvertently powered off while a cuff is still inflated.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | N O V E M B E R 2013
