Emergency tourniquet

Emergency tourniquets are cuff-like devices designed to stop severe traumatic bleeding before or during transport to a care facility.

[1] Correct use of tourniquet devices has been shown to save lives under austere conditions with comparatively low risk of injury.

[7] They are therefore more likely to stop bleeding and less likely to cause damage to underlying tissue, in addition to being significantly less painful than tourniquets with narrow straps and bands.

[9] Designed tourniquet devices are routinely tightened over healthy limbs during training with no ill effects, and recent evidence from combat hospitals in Iraq suggests that morbidity rates are low when users adhere to standard best practices.

[4] The Stop The Bleed educational initiative provides knowledge aimed at the greater public on when to use a tourniquet and the correct user actions.

[11] In 2012, the Combat Ready Clamp (CRoC) was selected by the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) for that purpose.

[12] Another emerging need is more refined training regimes and doctrine based on scientific evidence, which can ensure that future tourniquet practice and policies are in line with the most current body of knowledge.