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Tactical Combat Casualty Care 7 December 2012. Current Performance Improvement Issues. TCCC Lessons Learned in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reports from Joint Trauma System (JTS) weekly Trauma Telecons – every Thursday morning
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Tactical Combat Casualty Care7 December 2012 Current Performance Improvement Issues
TCCC Lessons Learned in Iraq and Afghanistan Reports from Joint Trauma System (JTS) weekly Trauma Telecons – every Thursday morning Worldwide telecon to discuss every serious casualty admitted to a Level III hospital from that week Published medical reports Armed Forces Medical Examiner’s Office reports Feedback from doctors, corpsmen, medics, and PJs
NATO/ISAF Standard Evacuation Categories International Security Assistance Force SOP #312: Governs operations in Afghanistan Follows NATO doctrine Specifies three categories for casualty evacuation: A - Urgent B - Priority C - Routine
CAT A – Urgent (denotes a critical, life-threatening injury) Significant injuries from a dismounted IED attack Gunshot wound or penetrating shrapnel to chest, abdomen or pelvis Any casualty with ongoing airway difficulty Any casualty with ongoing respiratory difficulty Unconscious casualty NATO/ISAF Standard Evacuation Categories
CAT A – Urgent (continued) Casualty with known or suspected spinal injury Casualty in shock Casualty with bleeding that is difficult to control Moderate/Severe TBI Burns greater than 20% Total Body Surface Area NATO/ISAF Standard Evacuation Categories
CAT B – Priority (serious injury) Isolated, open extremity fracture with bleeding controlled Any casualty with a tourniquet in place Penetrating or other serious eye injury Significant soft tissue injury without major bleeding Extremity injury with absent distal pulses Burns 10-20% Total Body Surface Area NATO/ISAF Standard Evacuation Categories
CAT C – Routine (mild to moderate injury) Concussion (mild TBI) Gunshot wound to extremity - bleeding controlled without tourniquet Minor soft tissue shrapnel injury Closed fracture with intact distal pulses Burns < 10% Total Body Surface Area NATO/ISAF Standard Evacuation Categories
Train ALL Combatants and all Operational Medical Providers in TCCC Line commanders must take the lead to have an effective TCCC training program for all combatants Docs, nurses, PAs must know what their combat medical personnel know about TCCC
Tourniquets Being Placed Too Proximal and Not Adjusted during TFC
E-mail from an orthopedic surgeon: “…. tourniquet was applied on the proximal biceps for a middle finger amputation.”
Care Under Fire Guidelines 7. Stop life-threatening external hemorrhage if tactically feasible: Direct casualty to control hemorrhage by self-aid if able. Use a CoTCCC-recommended tourniquet for hemorrhage that is anatomically amenable to tourniquet application. Apply the tourniquet proximal to the bleeding site, over the uniform, tighten, and move the casualty to cover.
Three Key Points “Proximal to the bleeding site” does not necessarily mean at the upper biceps for a hand injury or at the upper thigh for a foot injury The tourniquet should be moved to a skin location 2-3 inches above the bleeding site during Tactical Field Care. Reassess the bleeding site frequently to ensure that tourniquet is still effective.
Tourniquet Mistakesto Avoid! Not using one when you should Using a tourniquet for minimal bleeding Putting it on too proximally Not taking it off when indicated during TFC Taking it off when the casualty is in shock or has only a short transport time to the hospital Not making it tight enough – the tourniquet should eliminate the distal pulse Not using a second tourniquet if needed Waiting too long to put the tourniquet on Periodically loosening the tourniquet to allow blood flow to the injured extremity * These lessons learned have been written in blood. *
Eye Injuries: Recent Increase in Eye Injuries from Not Wearing Eye Protection
Wear Your Eye Protection! Jan 2010 22 y/o near IED without eye protection Now blind in both eyes Don’t let this happen to you – see slides below With eye pro – eyes OK! Without eye pro – both eyes lost
Penetrating Eye Trauma Rigid eye shield for obvious or suspected eye wounds - often not being done – SHIELD AND SHIP! Not doing this may cause permanent loss of vision – use a shield for any injury in or around the eye Eye shields not always in IFAKs IED + no eye pro + facial wounds = Suspected Eye Injury! • Shield after injury • No shield after injury
Eye Protection • Use your tactical eyewear to cover the injured eye if you • don’t have a shield. • Using tactical eyewear in the field will generally prevent • the eye injury from happening in the first place!
JTTS Trauma Telecon9 Sept 2010 Recent case of endophthalmitis (blinding infection inside the eye) Reminder – shield and moxifloxacin in the field for penetrating eye injuries – combat pill pack! Also – need to continue moxi both topically and systemically in the MTFs Many antibiotics do not penetrate well into the eye
Patched Open Globe 22 July 2010 Shrapnel in right eye from IED Had rigid eye shield placed Reported as both pressure patched and as having a gauze pad placed under the eye shield without pressure – NO pressure patches on eye injuries Extruded uveal tissue (intraocular contents) noted at time of operative repair of globe Do not place gauze on injured eyes! COL Robb Mazzoli: Gauze can adhere to iris tissue and cause further extrusion when removed even if no pressure is applied to eye. At least two other recent occurrences of patching
Pressure Dressings on Eye Injuries The wrong thing to do – makes a bad situation potentially much worse – SHIELD ONLY
NO Narcotic Analgesia for Casualties in Shock Narcotics (morphine and fentanyl) are CONTRAINDICATED for casualties who are in shock or who are likely to go into shock; these agents may worsen their shock and increase the risk of death Four casualties in two successive weekly telecons were noted to have gotten narcotics and were in shock during transport or on admission to the MTFs Use ketamine for casualties who are in shock or at risk of going into shock but are still having significant pain
Case ReportSeptember 2012 Male casualty with GSW to thigh Bleeding controlled by tourniquet In shock – alert but hypotensive Severe pain from tourniquet Repeated pleas to PA to remove the tourniquet PA did not want to use opioids because of the shock Perfect candidate for ketamine analgesia Not fielded at the time with this unit
First – Do No HarmHarris et al – Mil Med 2012 • Platelets help to keep you from bleeding to death if you • are wounded. Some drugs keep them from working. • Survey of 175 Soldiers at a FOB in SE Afghanistan • “Do you take over-the-counter or prescription • NSAIDs?” • If so, how often?
First – Do No HarmHarris et al – Mil Med 2012 • Recommendations: • Earlier platelets in DCR • Consider restricting NSAIDs in theater • Other analgesic choices: acetaminophen, • cox-2 selective NSAIDs, tramadol
Note that other drugs and some nutritional supplements may inhibit platelets as well. Check with your doc on this!
TCCC Card –Fill It Out! You’re not done taking care of your casualty until this is done Mission Commanders – this is a leadership issue!
