ABSTRACT
An estimated 10% of all battlefield deaths are caused by haemorrhage from extremity wounds.1 Analysis of data from the Vietnam War (from the Wound Data and Munitions Effectiveness Team database) found that bleeding from limb wounds accounted for more than half of preventable deaths in combat and that 7% of all combat deaths in Vietnam could have been prevented by using a limb tourniquet.2 Contemporary experience from the Israeli Defence Force3 and US and UK experience in Iraq4
confirms the pivotal role of external haemorrhage control in managing ballistic casualties.
