Implementing Tourniquet Conversion Guidelines for Civilian EMS and Prehospital Organizations : A Case Report and Review.
Wilderness & environmental medicine · 2024-03-21 · Case report
Abstract
Since the first documented use of a tourniquet in 1674, the popularity of tourniquets has waxed and waned. During recent wars and more recently in Emergency Medical Services systems, the tourniquet has been proven to be a valuable tool in the treatment of life-threatening hemorrhage. However, tourniquet use is not without risk, and several studies have demonstrated adverse events and morbidity associated with tourniquet use in the prehospital setting, particularly when left in place for more than 2 h. Consequently, the US military's Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care has recommended guidelines for prehospital tourniquet conversion to reduce the risk of adverse events associated with tourniquets once the initial hemorrhage has been controlled. Emergency Medical Services systems that operate in rural, frontier, and austere environments, especially those with transport times to definitive care that routinely exceed 2 h, may consider implementing similar tourniquet conversion guidelines.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Implementation · Low- and middle-income settings · Military & tactical · Rural & remote · Tourniquet
Related articles
- Assessing Evidence Bias for Prehospital Tourniquet Use: A Scoping Review. (World J Surg, 2025)
- Impact of time and distance on outcomes following tourniquet use in civilian and military settings: A scoping review. (Injury, 2023)
- Prehospital tourniquet use and associated outcomes in a low-resource conflict setting: prospective observational casualty data and tourniquet classification system from the Sahel. (BMJ Mil Health, 2026)
- Lay First Responder Training in Eastern Uganda: Leveraging Transportation Infrastructure to Build an Effective Prehospital Emergency Care Training Program. (World J Surg, 2018)
- Abdominal aortic junctional tourniquet (AAJT-S): a systematic review of utility in military practice. (BMJ Mil Health, 2025)
- Saving Lives on the Battlefield (Part II) ? One Year Later A Joint Theater Trauma System and Joint Trauma System Review of Prehospital Trauma Care in Combined Joint Operations Area?Afghanistan (CJOA-A) Final Report, 30 May 2014. (J Spec Oper Med, 2015)