Prehospital tourniquet use tied to improved mobility and limb preservation in vascular extremity trauma

The results of this study could be summarised as follows:

• Of 232 patients, prehospital tourniquet application had no association with mortality or lactate level.
• The prehospital tourniquet application group had more transfusions, lower acute kidney injury rates, and fewer delayed amputations.
• Ninety-one patients, (45 in prehospital tourniquet application and 46 without it) were evaluated for "Moving between Bed and Chair" in the "6 Clicks" Basic Mobility Score. Those in the prehospital tourniquet application group had higher levels of independence.

In this study, they said we used the "6 Clicks" score to assess the differences in functional mobility between patients who had extremity vascular trauma with and without tourniquet use.

The use of Prehospital tourniquets was associated with fewer delayed amputations. The outcomes were favourable, including higher functional mobility and decreased delayed amputation.

The results of this study suggest that tourniquet use should be encouraged in the civilian setting as it improves outcomes and reduces limb loss risk.

Reference:

Thai, A. P., Tseng, E. S., Kishawi, S., Robenstine, J. C., & Ho, V. P. (2023). Prehospital tourniquet application in extremity vascular trauma: Improved functional outcomes. Surgery, 174(6), 1471–1475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2023.08.002