Building community resilience: A scalable model for hemorrhage-control training at a mass gathering site, using the RE-AIM framework

Effectiveness of "Stop the Bleed" Courses: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Our object was to comprehensively analyze the existing body of evidence to evaluate the Stop the Bleed (STB) course effectiveness and satisfaction and find the direction of improvement for the future.

STUDY DESIGN

A literature search with the term "Stop the Bleed" in the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library was performed, retrieving records from January 1, 2013 to April 13, 2022 based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram. In addition, all selected papers' references were examined for qualified studies that were missed during the first search. Original publications were included that reported on (1) clinical studies of the STB course implementation; and (2) studies comparing students' hemostasis ability and attitude (comfort, confidence, and willingness) before and after the STB course. The literature search and data extraction were done independently by 2 writers. To establish consensus, disagreements will be handled with the help of a third reviewer. For data synthesis, the most inclusive data from studies with repeated data were abstracted. Changes in hemostasis questionnaire scoring and operation evaluation after the STB course were the main outcomes.

RESULTS

This systematic review and meta-analysis includes 36 trials with a total of 11,561 trainees. Thirty-one of them were undertaken in the USA, while the other 5, accounting for 13.9%, were conducted in other regions. Among various evaluation methods, 3 trials with 927 trainees indicated that scores of correct uses of tourniquet significantly increased after the STB course (mean difference of post versus pre groups, 44.28; 95% CI 41.24-47.32; p < 0.001). Significant difference was also observed in the willingness to apply a hemostatic dressing in a real-world situation (risk ratio for post versus pre groups, 1.28; 95% CI 1.08-1.52; p = 0.004) (7 studies and 2360 participants). The results indicate that hemostasis knowledge and skills after the STB course had improved, but statistics indicated that STB courses implemented in the USA were more effective than other regions.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Meta-analysis showed that comparison before and after the STB course were significantly different. However, the outcome measures in each study were different and could not, therefore, be compiled in all cases. The effectiveness and worth of implementation of STB in different countries should be continuously evaluated in the future.

Recommendations for Improving Stop the Bleed: A Systematic Review

INTRODUCTION

In response to mass casualty events, The Hartford Consensus brought together subject matter experts across multiple disciplines in health care and public safety to create guidelines and publications intended to improve survivability in active shooter events. Among the recommendations was the earlier recognition and treatment application of life-threatening hemorrhage control. These recommendations culminated in efforts to create the Stop the Bleed Campaign, which aims to empower the layperson to render aid in a life-threatening bleeding emergency. As of February 2020, the program has held over 86,000 courses, trained over 1.4 million attendees, and over 77,000 instructors since its inception. In addition to spreading within the United States, American College of Surgeons (ACS) Stop the Bleed (StB) classes have been held in 118 different countries. This systematic narrative review aims to answer the following research question: What does the ACS StB Initiative do well, and where can it improve?

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The following search terms were utilized: "Stop the Bleed," "American College of Surgeons," "bleeding control," "first-aid," tourniquet, "wound pack," "direct pressure" hemorrhage, and bystander. The inclusion criteria were that the article needed to speak to the program or some aspect of bystander first aid, the article needed to be in a civilian setting, the article needed to be more than a case study or overview, and the first aid tools needed to be in the StB curriculum. 4 databases were searched, which produced 138 articles for screening. One hundred four full-text articles were able to be retrieved, and 56 articles were determined to meet the inclusion criteria once the full text was reviewed.

RESULTS

Fifty-six articles were included in the final review and were placed into the following categories: Needs Within the Community, Confidence and Knowledge, Training Modalities, Barriers and Gaps in Training, Instructor Selection, Skill Retention, and Patient Outcomes. The articles were then organized into each outcome for synthesis and reporting of the results. The program overwhelmingly improves short-term confidence, but gaps in skill retention, data collection on patient outcomes, and settings that would benefit were identified.

CONCLUSION

StB is an effective tool in building confidence in laypersons, which is its biggest strength. A review of the literature shows several areas where the curriculum and materials could be better developed. Research can also be further refined to better quantify the program's impact.

The Windlass Tourniquet: Is It Taking the Wind Out of the "Stop the Bleed" Sails?

BACKGROUND

Civilians are often first-line responders in hemorrhage control; however, windlass tourniquets are not intuitive. Untrained users reading enclosed instructions failed in 38.2% of tourniquet applications. This prospective follow-up study replicated testing following Stop the Bleed (STB) training.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One and six months following STB, first-year medical students were randomly assigned a windlass tourniquet with enclosed instructions. Each was given one minute to read instructions and two minutes to apply the windlass tourniquet on the TraumaFX HEMO trainer. Demographics, time to read instructions and stop bleeding, blood loss, and simulation success were analyzed.

RESULTS

100 students received STB training. 31 and 34 students completed tourniquet testing at one month and six months, respectively. At both intervals, 38% of students were unable to control hemorrhage (P = 0.97). When compared to the pilot study without STB training (median 48 sec, IQR 33-60 sec), the time taken to read the instructions was shorter one month following STB (P <0.001), but there was no difference at 6 months (P = 0.1). Incorrect placement was noted for 19.4% and 23.5% of attempts at 1 and 6 months. Male participants were more successful in effective placement at one month (93.3% versus 31.3%, P = 0.004) and at six months (77.8% versus 43.8%, p = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Skills decay for tourniquet application was observed between 1 and 6 months following STB. Instruction review and STB produced the same hemorrhage control rates as reading enclosed instructions without prior training. Training efforts must continue; but an intuitive tourniquet relying less on mechanical advantage is needed.

Tourniquets as a haemorrhage control measure in military and civilian care settings: An integrative review

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of review was to describe and synthesise the evidence on the use of tourniquets to control haemorrhages, summarising both civilian and military use.

BACKGROUND

Trauma-related haemorrhage constitutes one of the most preventable deaths among injured patients, particularly in multi-casualty incidents and disasters. In this context, safe instruments such as tourniquets are essential to help healthcare professionals to minimise loss of life and maximise patient recovery.

DESIGN AND METHODS

An integrative review was conducted in Medline, Nursing & Allied Health Premium, and Health & Medical Collection, using published data until March 2021 and following the PRISMA guidelines.

RESULTS

A total of 25 articles were included. Evidence has been synthesised to understand the use of different types of tourniquets, environment of application, indication for their placement and potential complications associated with tourniquet placement.

CONCLUSIONS

Commercial tourniquets such as Combat Application Tourniquet or Emergency Tourniquet models are a valuable and safe instrument for haemorrhage control in both military and civilian out-of-hospital care settings. Nurses, as part of emergency teams, and other professionals should be aware that there is a possibility of adverse complications, but they are directly proportional to the time of tourniquet placement and generally temporary. In addition, national and international guidelines ensure the need for all civilian emergency services to be equipped with these devices, as well as for the training of healthcare professionals and first responders in their use.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Despite the lack of complications in the use of tourniquets in these cases, their use has been a matter of debate for decades. In this sense, this review yields up-to-date guidelines in the use of tourniquets, their recommendations and their significance among professionals to manage complicated situations.

Effectiveness of the American College of Surgeons Bleeding Control Basic Training Among Laypeople Applying Different Tourniquet Types: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance

More than 500 000 laypeople in the United States have been trained in hemorrhage control, including tourniquet application, under the Stop the Bleed campaign. However, it is unclear whether after hemorrhage control training participants become proficient in a specific type of tourniquet or can also use other tourniquets effectively.

Objective

To assess whether participants completing the American College of Surgeons Bleeding Control Basic (B-Con) training with Combat Application Tourniquets (CATs) can effectively apply bleeding control principles using other tourniquet types (commercial and improvised).

Design, Setting, and Participants

This nonblinded, crossover, sequential randomized clinical trial with internal control assessed a volunteer sample of laypeople who attended a B-Con course at Gillette Stadium and the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts, for correct application of each of 5 different tourniquet types immediately after B-Con training from April 4, 2018, to October 9, 2018. The order of application varied for each participant using randomly generated permutated blocks.

Interventions

Full B-Con course, including cognitive and skill sessions, that taught bleeding care, wound pressure and packing, and CAT application.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Correct tourniquet application (applied pressure of ≥250 mm Hg with a 2-minute time cap) in a simulated scenario for 3 commercial tourniquets (Special Operation Forces Tactical Tourniquet, Stretch-Wrap-and-Tuck Tourniquet, and Rapid Application Tourniquet System) and improvised tourniquet compared with correct CAT application as an internal control using 4 pairwise Bonferroni-corrected comparisons with the McNemar test.

Results

A total of 102 participants (50 [49.0%] male; median [interquartile range] age, 37.5 [27.0-53.0] years) were included in the study. Participants correctly applied the CAT at a significantly higher rate (92.2%) than all other commercial tourniquet types (Special Operation Forces Tactical Tourniquet, 68.6%; Stretch-Wrap-and-Tuck Tourniquet, 11.8%; Rapid Application Tourniquet System, 11.8%) and the improvised tourniquet (32.4%) (P < .001 for each pairwise comparison). When comparing tourniquets applied correctly, all tourniquet types had higher estimated blood loss, had longer application time, and applied less pressure than the CAT.

Conclusions and Relevance

The B-Con principles for correct CAT application are not fully translatable to other commercial or improvised tourniquet types. This study demonstrates a disconnect between the B-Con course and tourniquet designs available for bystander first aid, potentially stemming from the lack of consensus guidelines. These results suggest that current B-Con trainees may not be prepared to care for bleeding patients as tourniquet design evolves.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03538379.

Learners' perspectives on Stop the Bleed: a course to improve survival during mass casualty events

Background

In response to increasing mass casualty events nationwide, the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma developed a bleeding control course (Stop the Bleed) to teach hemorrhage control techniques to laypeople. There is a high level of public interest in learning about injury mitigation, but no study evaluating learners' perspectives after bleeding control training. We sought to evaluate the didactic value of the bleeding control course by analyzing learners' feedback within the framework of adult learning theory.

Study design

We analyzed a total of 720 open-ended surveys from 20 regional bleeding control courses taught by a level I trauma center team during a 9-month period. Major themes expressed by learners were organized into a categorical code structure. Keywords identified from free text responses were used to code comments into subthemes. These themes were organized into categories within the framework of adult learning theory.

Results

The two primary themes identified from learners' feedback were empowerment and practicality. Respondents reported an overwhelmingly positive experience; 97% of participants would recommend the course to others. The course design (lecture, didactics and hands-on activities) was cited as a positive element of the course. Participants felt empowered and prepared to act and help others during mass emergency events. Actionable items for future course improvement were identified.

Conclusion

Themes from learners' feedback fit within the framework of adult learning theory. These findings highlight the bleeding control course as an empowering experience and a practical and engaging approach to teaching hemorrhage mitigation to the public.

Level of evidence

Level V, qualitative analysis.