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Effects of Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Training for Law Enforcement Officers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2018

Heidie R. Rothschild  and
Kathleen Mathieson
Heidie R. Rothschild*
Affiliation:
Doctorate in Health Science, A.T. Still University, Mesa, ArizonaUSA
Kathleen Mathieson
Affiliation:
Advisor, A.T. Still University, Mesa, ArizonaUSA
*
Correspondence: Heidie R. Rothschild, BS, MHA, DHSc A.T. Still University 7636 Audubon Meadow Way Alexandria, Virginia USA E-mail: hrothschild@atsu.edu
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Abstract

Objective

This study evaluated how Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) training prepared law enforcement officers (LEOs) with the tools necessary to provide immediate, on-scene medical care to successfully stabilize victims of trauma.

Methods

This was a retrospective, de-identified study using a seven-item Fairfax County (Virginia USA) TECC After-Action Questionnaire and Arlington County (Virginia USA) police reports.

Results

Forty-six encounters were collected from 2015 through 2016. Eighty-four percent (n=39) of the encounters were from TECC After-Action Questionnaires and 15% (n=7) were from police reports. The main injuries included 13% (n=6) arterial bleeds, 46% (n=21) mild/moderate bleeds, 37% (n=17) large wounds, 20% (n=9) penetrating chest wounds, and 13% (n=6) open abdominal wounds. One-hundred percent of officers reported success in stabilizing victim injuries. Seventy-four percent of officers (n=26) did not encounter problems caring for a patient while 26% (n=9) encountered a problem. Ninety-seven percent (n=37/38) answered Yes, the training was sufficient, and three percent (n=1) indicated it was OK.

Conclusion

This is the most comprehensive study of TECC use among LEOs to date that supports the importance of TECC training for all LEOs in prehospital trauma care. Results of this study showed TECC training prepared LEOs with the operational tools necessary to provide immediate, on-scene medical care to successfully stabilize victims of trauma. Continuing to train increasing numbers of LEOs in TECC is key to saving the lives of victims of trauma in the future.

RothschildHR, MathiesonK.Effects of Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Training for Law Enforcement Officers. Prehosp Disaster Med.2018;33(5):495–500.

Keywords

hemorrhagelaw enforcement officersmass-casualty incidentsprehospital emergency caretourniquet
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 33 , Issue 5 , October 2018 , pp. 495 - 500
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2018 

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Footnotes

Conflicts of interest: none

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