Tourniquet use for extremity fractures has no adverse effect on number of ventilator days for patients who are treated with reamed femoral or tibial shaft nails

•No statistically significant negative association was found between use of a tourniquet and number of ventilator days in the femoral or tibial fracture group.•Tourniquet use for other fractures did not increase the number of ventilator days for patients undergoing intramedullary nail insertion to treat femoral or tibial shaft fractures.•A potential protective effect of tourniquet use was shown in patients with upper extremity fractures and in those with both upper and lower extremity fractures.•The data presented in this study should reassure clinicians that tourniquet use for other fractures in either the upper or lower extremity at the same setting as reamed femoral or tibial nail insertion does not seem to increase risk for increased ventilator-dependent days.