A tourniquet test determines capillary fragility.

It is also known as a Rumpel-Leede Capillary-Fragility Test or simply a capillary fragility test. It is a clinical diagnostic method to determine bleeding tendencies in a person who might have a disease such as dengue fever. It assesses fragility of capillary walls, evaluates bleeding tendencies, and identifies thrombocytopenia (a reduced platelet count).

In dengue, the test is defined by the WHO. A blood pressure cuff is inflated to a point between the systolic and diastolic blood pressures for five minutes. The test is positive if there are more than 20 petechiae per square inch.

Reliability

At least one insurance company, Aetna, has determined that the Rumpel-Leede test is obsolete or unreliable and has been replaced by more advanced procedures. http://www.aetna.com/cpb/data/CPBA0438.html.

The test remains an essential part of the assessment of a patient who may have dengue haemorrhagic fever.