Stretch and wrap style tourniquet effectiveness with minimal training

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Trauma Care
• Surgical Devices

Background:

• Tourniquets are critical for managing severe extremity hemorrhage.
• The Stretch, Wrap, and Tuck Tourniquet (SWAT-T) is a commercially available device designed for ease of use.
• Assessing the effectiveness and training requirements of the SWAT-T is important for pre-hospital and military settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of the Stretch, Wrap, and Tuck Tourniquet (SWAT-T) in achieving arterial occlusion.
• To determine the minimal training required for successful SWAT-T application.
• To assess user-perceived ease of application and discomfort.

Main Methods:

• Fifteen undergraduates received brief training (video and practice) on the SWAT-T.
• Tourniquets were applied to 10 locations on volunteers (above/below elbow/knee).
• Occlusion was confirmed using Doppler ultrasound; application success and difficulty were recorded.

Main Results:

• Successful arterial occlusion occurred in a majority of applications.
• Proper stretch technique was more frequent on arms than legs, while occlusion was more frequent on arms.
• Post-additional training, both proper stretch and occlusion rates significantly improved.

Conclusions:

• The SWAT-T can effectively stop extremity arterial flow.
• While generally easy to apply, some users require additional training to achieve optimal results.
• The device shows promise for hemorrhage control with minimal initial training.