Additional Reading

Material quality may impact treatment of the second leading cause of preventable death in the battlefield. The quality of medical devices utilized to treat critical battlefield injuries should be a serious consideration when selecting equipment. Some medical equipment contains sub-quality stainless steel. Using materials other than the traditional medical grade surgical stainless steel grade 304 may result in safety or efficacy concerns as noted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When purchasing medical equipment that is manufactured offshore, exposure to inferior grade materials is a risk that must be considered.

Studies Identify The Recommended Field Tourniquet
The U.S. Military identified the need for a safe and effective field tourniquet that could be applied with one hand by any soldier injured in combat. Several studies have been conducted to review available field tourniquets.

There is a need for a national standard for mass casualty triage, as disasters frequently cross jurisdictional lines involving responders from multiple agencies. After reviewing all of the existing triage systems a consensus review panel found that there was insufficient evidence to support one system over the others. Using aspects of the existing systems and based on best evidence, SALT (Sort –Assess - Life Saving Interventions - Treatment and/or transport) was developed as a national all-hazards mass casualty initial triage standard for all patients (e.g., adults, children, special populations).

The physiological and psychological demand placed on combatant and rescue personnel is typically unappreciated. Simple tasks can become both difficult and in some instances impossible to perform under survival stress.

TCCC launched a total reassessment of practices with one overarching goal: decrease preventable combat death at the point of wounding. These evolving strategies based on historical wounding patterns in combat also bear a particular relevance to the operators of Tactical Law Enforcement who share many operational parallels with their military counterparts. Instead of the civilian-based approaches of the past, integrated strategies specific to combat realities continue to emerge.

Secondary hypothermia in trauma patients with a core temperature below 95°F is considered a poor prognostic sign... if under 89.6°F it is linked to 100% mortality.

Temporary prehospital emergency tourniquets are life-saving devices that rarely cause complications when appropriately trained rescuers apply the devices correctly. Although the total time that a tourniquet remains in place is a major determinant of potential injury, an often-overlooked aspect is the design of the device itself. To understand why the C-A-T^® (Combat Application Tourniquet^®) by North American Rescue represents the optimal design for a temporary emergency tourniquet, one must understand how this device works...

Traditionally, many rescuers attempt to "snatch and grab" a casualty in order to move them to a position of cover. Using this technique, a negative cascade of events is likely to occur.