Do Adult Tourniquets Work in Pediatric Patients?

Adult Combat Application Tourniquets are effective at occluding blood flow even in children as young as 6 years.

The Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) has been proven to reduce exsanguination-related mortality in adults. Now, researchers prospectively assessed its ability to occlude blood flow in the extremities of 60 healthy school-aged (6–16 years) volunteers. For each child, a CAT GEN 7 tourniquet was applied midthigh and midbicep, fitted snuggly, and tightened by half turns while pulses were monitored with Doppler ultrasound. A maximum of three turns (1080°) was allowed to avoid participant pain.

The CAT occluded arterial blood flow in all 60 upper extremities, with a maximum of two full turns required. Occlusion was successful in 56 (93%) of the lower extremities. Of the four failures, one was due to pain at 2.5 turns and three were due to conti…

Reviewing Author

Carolyn K. Holland, MD, MEd, FACEP, FAAP

Disclosures

EquityGeneral Electric

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Program Committee Chief Resident Forum Subcommittee Chair); American College of Emergency Physicians (Education Committee member)

Carolyn K. Holland, MD, MEd, FACEP, FAAP

Disclosures

EquityGeneral Electric

Do Adult Tourniquets Work in Pediatric Patients?

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Reviewing Author