Abstract
In trauma cases, hemorrhaging is the factor associated with the greatest risk of death. In particular, hemorrhaging of the extremities is a preventable cause of death. At our hospital, we have equipped our helicopter ambulance with the Combat Application Tourniquet® (CAT®) since 2014, based on the concept of tactical combat casualty care (TC3). The CAT® is a tourniquet that is used to treat injuries that occur during combat. It is small, easy to affix, and is used to treat injuries of the extremities, where astriction can be difficult to achieve. In this study, 10 cases in which the CAT® was used were investigated to examine the efficacy of this approach. Hemostasis was achieved using the CAT®. The patients were transported to the emergency center with no subsequent re-bleeding or complications, and all cases had favorable outcomes. A comparison of the patients' on-site and emergency center revised trauma scores (RTS) indicated that their emergency center RTS were significantly better than their on-site RTS (7.6±0.2 vs. 7.0±0.3 ; p=0.021). This improvement in the patients' RTS could have been caused by the strong hemostatic effects of the CAT®. In future, we need to increase awareness of the CAT® and become proficient at using it. The CAT®, which has strong hemostatic effects, is useful for prehospital treatment.
