U.S. Military Use of Tourniquets from 2001 to 2010

AbstractObjective. This study was conducted to associate tourniquet use and survival in casualty care over a decade of war in order to provide evidence to emergency medical personnel for the implementation and efficacy of tourniquet use in a large trauma system. Methods. This survey is a retrospective review of data extracted from a trauma registry. The decade (2001–2010) outcome trend analysis of tourniquet use in the current wars was made in order to associate tourniquet use and survival in an observational cohort design. Results. Of 4,297 casualties with extremity trauma in the total study, 30% (1,272/4,297) had tourniquet use and 70% (3,025/4,297) did not. For all 4,297 casualties, the proportion of casualties with severe or critical extremity Abbreviated Injury Scales (AIS) increased during the years surveyed (p < 0.0001); the mean annual Injury Severity Score (ISS) rose from 13 to 21. Tourniquet use increased during the decade by almost tenfold from 4 to nearly 40% (p < 0.0001). Survival for casualt...