Tourniquet myths
Carlos Zapa Hernandez
MD, Specialist in critical medicine and intensive care / tactical and operative medicine, Colombia
”Improvising tourniquets is the best”
– Their failure rate is between 80% and 90% although sometimes they are the only option, try not to get there.
”Tourniquets are dangerous because of the loss of limbs they cause”
– The rate of limb loss in different check-ups is less than 2%. Usually the limb that is lost is from the injury that led you to put on the tourniquet.
”Loosening every so often reduces complications”
– It is the worst and riskiest thing you can do and there is no single review or study to support this claim.
”Tourniquets are the last option in hemorrhage control”
– Nothing is further from reality, in situations such as arterial hemorrhages, traumatic amputations, etc. they are the FIRST OPTION. The decision will be guided by the mechanism of trauma, type of injury and your training.
”Tourniquets have no scientific evidence”
– The flood of studies is incredible with greater emphasis in the last 11 years where the overwhelming evidence makes you look very silly to say that. Enter PubMed type tourniquet and you will have a cascade of information.
”Tourniquets are contraindicated”
– Protocols such as TECC, TCCC, ATLS, PHTLS, include their use in their care algorithms in #Trauma.
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