Camping Laceration
An officer's department-issued tourniquet was pulled off in brush en route. The ETQ stashed in his plate carrier achieved arterial occlusion.
- Applied by Law enforcement
- On duty
- Worked as expected
- Survived
Reported source material
In the reporter's own words. Snakestaff has not edited, summarised or endorsed the statements below.
Responded to a call for a self-inflicted wrist laceration with radial and ulnar artery involvement at a campsite in the woods. En route, my department-issued CAT tourniquet became dislodged, presumably hung up in brush and pulled from the carrier, so it was not available. Fortunately, I was carrying an ETQ stashed inside my plate carrier. Upon arrival, another officer was attempting to control the bleeding with direct pressure, which was unsuccessful. I determined a tourniquet was indicated and applied your ETQ approximately 4" proximal from the injury site. Arterial occlusion was achieved successfully, and the patient was transported to a higher echelon of care for artery repair.
This is a living document of reported real-world, non-training use. It is intended to support product-performance monitoring and public transparency. It does not replace clinical studies and is not a substitute for clinical research.
Accounts of other manufacturers' products are the reporters' own statements, quoted as given, and are not claims made by Snakestaff Systems.
Snakestaff Systems commentary
Our own analysis of this case.
This case is a practical example of why backup medical equipment matters. Gear can fail, get lost, or simply not be accessible when it is needed. One patient may require more than one tourniquet, and a larger incident can exhaust a responder's supply very quickly.