Extremity Tourniquet Self-Application by Antarctica Zodiac Crew Members

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Cold Weather Survival
• Trauma Care

Background:

• Search and rescue teams and Antarctic research groups utilize anti-exposure suits (AES) for cold-water operations.
• Self-application of extremity tourniquets (ETs) over AES has not been previously investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the self-application (SA) ability, ease of use, tolerance, and user preference of five commercial ETs when worn over AES.

Main Methods:

• Fifteen volunteers attempted SA of five ETs (CAT, OMNA, RATS, RMT, SWAT-T) over AES.
• SA to upper and lower extremities was evaluated.
• Ease of SA, tolerance, and preference were measured using statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• OMNA received the highest ease-of-SA score (8.5/10) for upper extremity application.
• SWAT-T showed inferior performance on lower extremities.
• RATS exhibited significantly lower tolerance compared to other ETs.

Conclusions:

• Commercial ETs are feasible for self-application over AES in Antarctic conditions.
• OMNA was the best-performing ET, with 60% of subjects preferring it.
• Findings support the use of specific ETs for improved safety in cold-water environments.