"It Is hard to overrate the meanIng of an InItIal medI-
cal care In combat – what wounded soldIer should do
for hImself or what hIs buddIes should do for hIm and
– last but not least - what paramedIc or medIcal team
leader, when soldIer's lImb Is amputated or he has an
open chest wound, In combat, In dust and heat or when It
Is wIndy or when It Is snowIng – thIs sImple procedures
decIde about lIfe and dead…
small skIlls Improvement and prIorItIes assessment
wIll safe more lIfe than 100 percent profIcIenc y
In hospItal surgery" - LTC dr Douglas Lindsay, Presentation for Army Medical
Graduate School 1951 r.
In our first article we have explained the tourniquet, general TCCC
understanding, the necessity for proper equipment care and
knowledge thereof, the rescuer's motivation and training priorities
all of the above mentioned issues. Nowadays a lot of time is spent
on bleeding's and bleeding's control techniques. In this article we
will focus on chest wounds, second overall cause of death. It will
include information on how to deal with serious breathing pro-
blems.
Primarily wound identification should be based on accurate victim
examination and trauma characteristic results prediction. Some of
the deaths can be avoided through life risk condition identifica-
tion and quick implementation of simple therapeutic procedures.
What is this Tactical Rescue exactly, isn't it just conducting detailed
procedures (maybe simplistic in theory, but challenging onsite)?
We have to remember that in this situation – like in every other
critical one –
the tIme Is the fIrst and crucIal prIorIt y..
massIve lImb
bleedIng
chest wounds (partIcularly
pressure one) that Includes
pneumothorax
wIth hypertensIon
60%
upper aIrways
obstruc tIon
6%
33%
durIng combat zone ac tIvIt y the most statIstIcally
relevant reasons for preventable deaths are:
www.fragoutmag.com
