PREHOSPITAL TOURNIQUET USE IN KOCHI PREFECTURE

• Published in: Journal of the Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 429 - 434
• Main Authors: KOMATSUBARA, Tadashi, MATSUMOTO, Toshiyuki, OKUDA, Ryuichiro, YAMAKAWA, Yasuaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma 20.07.2024; 一般社団法人 日本外傷学会
• Subjects: extremity trauma; limb amputation; prehospital care; tourniquet; vascular injury; ターニケット; 切断肢; 四肢外傷; 病院前診療; 血管損傷
• ISSN: 1340-6264; 2188-0190
• DOI: 10.11382/jjast.38.3_01

ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness and problems of prehospital tourniquet use in our hospital.MethodsThos was a single-center retrospective study. Subjects were trauma patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 9 or higher who were transported to our hospital between 2019 and 2022.ResultsA total of 853 trauma patients were included in this study. There were 194 upper- and 459 lower-extremity trauma cases. Five patients had a tourniquet applied, their median age was 57 years (range, 43 - 83 years), all were male, and they involved two upper- and three lower-extremity trauma cases. One of the five cases had arterial injury (peroneal artery injury). Complications caused by tourniquet use included deep vein thrombosis in one patient and insufficient pressure that contributed to venous hemorrhage in another patient.ConclusionWhile tourniquet use was effective, there were some associated complications. The duration of tourniquet use exceeded two hours in some cases, and this is an issue that needs to be improved.