PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Bany-Mohammed, Fayez M.
AU  - Macknin, Michael L.
AU  - Van Lente, Frederick
AU  - Medendorp, Sharon Vanderbrug
TI  - The effect of prolonged tourniquet application on serum bicarbonate
DP  - 1995 Jan 01
TA  - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
PG  - 68--70
VI  - 62
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/62/1/68.short
4100  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/62/1/68.full
SO  - Cleve Clin J Med1995 Jan 01; 62
AB  - BACKGROUND Many clinicians believe that prolonged tourniquet application lowers the serum bicarbonate concentration in samples drawn from that limb, but this effect has never been examined prospectively.OBJECTIVE To test the effect of prolonged tourniquet application before phlebotomy on serum bicarbonate concentration in healthy adults.METHODS We drew blood samples from 27 healthy adult volunteers without a tourniquet and again 1,3, and 5 minutes after applying a blood pressure cuff and inflating it to the mean arterial pressure. RESULTS The mean bicarbonate concentration was 27.3 ± 2.26 mmol/L (standard deviation) at baseline, 27.7 ± 2.39 mmol/L at 1 minute, 27.7 ± 2.05 mmol/L at 3 minutes, and 27.7 ± 1.96 mmol/L at 5 minutes. The mean change in bicarbonate concentration from baseline was −0.04 ± 1.02 mmol/L at 1 minute, 0.44 ± 1.05 mmol/L at 3 minutes, and 0.44 ±1.31 mmol/L at 5 minutes. The mean lactate concentration was 1.1 ± 0.28 mmol/L at baseline, 1.3 ± 0.65 mmol/L at 1 minute, 1.2 ± 0.52 mmol/L at 3 minutes, and 1.2 ± 0.36 mmol/L at 5 minutes. The mean change in lactate concentration from baseline was 0.15 ± 0.67 mmol/L at 1 minute, 0.11 ± 0.11 mmol/L at 3 minutes, and 0.12 ± 0.37 mmol/L at 5 minutes.CONCLUSIONS Prolonged tourniquet application before phlebotomy does not lower the serum bicarbonate concentration in healthy adults.