Can You ‘Stop the Bleed’?
Reconsidering tourniquets.
Bystanders apply pressure to woman’s leg to stop bleeding after explosion at 117th Boston Marathon. Photo by John Tlumacki / Boston Globe via Getty Images.
Have you ever used a windlass tourniquet? I had never even heard of one until recently. The only tourniquets I knew were fashioned from belts, scarves, or neckties, and we were always admonished to use these sparingly, because it was thought that they could cause severe damage to a limb.
In “Leading the Effort to Promote Bleeding Control in Our Communities” in this month’s AJN, James Reed and Margaret Carman dispel myths about tourniquets and share the growing evidence for their safety.
They also introduce us to the Stop the Bleed campaign. Hemorrhage is the second-leading cause of death (head injury, the first) after a traumatic injury, and when an extremity is the source of bleeding, rapid tourniquet application saves lives.
“More than 50,000 casualties sustained in the wars in Central and Southwest Asia have provided evidence that recognizing hemorrhage and controlling it should be the highest priority in caring […]