Emergency Tourniquet - Risks

Risks

Possible risks of complications - or morbidity - related to emergency tourniquet use include

  • amputation or stump shortening,
  • palsy,
  • myonecrosis,
  • pain,
  • clot,
  • fasciotomy,
  • acute renal failure,
  • rigor,
  • absess,
  • blisters,
  • abrasions,
  • contusions,
  • and pinching.

Emergency care services implementing routine tourniquet use, especially in the civilian setting, should exercise caution and ensure that training is adequate for optimal results. However, given proper precautions, the occurrence of complications due to tourniquet use is quite rare. 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. Since no better alternatives exist for users to self-apply with only basic training, the benefit of tourniquet use far outweighs the risks.

Safe tourniquet practice involves

  • careful placement of tourniquet proximal to all sites of hemorrhage,
  • limiting tourniquet time to less than two hours, if possible,
  • and minimizing applied pressure while stopping blood flow.

Read more about this topic:  Emergency Tourniquet

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