Intra-Articular Adrenaline Versus Tourniquet in Knee Arthroscopy: A Cohort Study

September 4, 2026 updated by: Rohit Shrestha, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences

Intra-Articular Adrenaline Versus Tourniquet in Knee Arthroscopy in a Tertiary Care Center: A Prospective Cohort Study

Arthroscopy has become one of the most commonly performed orthopaedic surgeries in the world due to it being a minimally invasive technique. Clear visualization is crucial for both safe and efficient arthroscopic procedures. Pneumatic tourniquet has been widely used in knee arthroscopic surgeries to obtain bloodless surgical field, improve visualization, and thereby surgical time. However, complications from tourniquet use are not uncommon, particularly in patients whose procedure takes longer than 60 minutes. Using a tourniquet could increase problems, such as electromyographic alterations, nerve compressions, arterial occlusions, delayed muscle recovery, and muscle weakness.

Intra-articular adrenaline injection creates a bloodless field by reducing local perfusion through its vasoconstrictive properties, mimicking the effect of a tourniquet. It appeared to be a potentially effective and safe option. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate intra-articular adrenaline infiltration as an alternative for achieving a bloodless field without tourniquet-related side effects, in terms of clinical efficacy, operative duration and safety. We would compare intra operative visibility and safety of intra articular adrenaline (1:200,000) injections with use of a tourniquet in arthroscopic knee surgeries. Comparision is made between one group that received standard tourniquet application and another group that received intra articular adrenaline injection. Then the intraoperative visibility in these two groups is compared using tools like surgeon visual analogue score and amount of irrigation fluid required. The effectiveness and safety of the method used is compared using appropriate statistical tools.

Null Hypothesis: There is no difference in intraoperative visibility and safety during knee arthroscopic surgeries with standard tourniquet application versus intraarticular adrenaline injection.

H0: outcome in Adrenaline group =< outcome in Tourniquet group

Alternative Hypothesis: Intra articular adrenaline injection is better than tourniquet use in arthroscopic knee surgeries with respect to operative field visibility and safety.

H1: outcome in Adrenaline group > or (not less than) outcome in Tourniquet group

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
169

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Nepal
    • Bagmati
      • Dhulikhel, Bagmati, Nepal, 45200
        • Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- Patients who are skeletally matured (18 year and above) undergoing knee arthroscopic surgeries.

The surgeries included are:

  • Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction
  • Anterior Cruciate Ligament repair
  • Anterior Cruciate Ligament decompression
  • Meniscus repair surgeries
  • Meniscus resection surgeries - Patients who provide consent for the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The patient with following procedures are excluded:

    • Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) surgeries
    • Multi-ligament surgeries
    • Osteochondral or intra articular fractures
  • Patients under 18 years of age
  • Patients who do not provide consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Adrenaline Administration
Procedure: Adrenaline
Both groups will be injected at portal and intra-articular with an injection solution (Group A will be infiltrated with 60 ml of normal saline only and Group B will be injected with 60 ml of 1:200,000 adrenaline diluted in 100 ml of normal saline)
Active Comparator: Tourniquet Administration
Procedure: Tourniquet
The tourniquet in all groups are applied over proximal thigh with well-padded cotton and inflated (only in Group A - Tourniquet Administration Group's) to 100 -150mm of Hg higher than systolic pressure of the patient. Other group - Group B, have no inflation of tourniquet, but only applied.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intraoperative Visibility Assessed by Surgeon Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
Time Frame: 1.5 years
Intraoperative visibility during arthroscopic knee surgery will be assessed by the operating surgeon using a 10-point Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates excellent visibility and 10 indicates extremely poor visibility. Lower scores indicate better operative visibility.
1.5 years
Intraoperative Irrigation Fluid Requirement
Time Frame: 1.5 years
The total volume of irrigation fluid used during arthroscopic knee surgery will be recorded in milliliters (mL). Lower irrigation fluid requirement indicates better operative visibility and efficiency.
1.5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 30, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 4, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 31/24

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings