Pressure applied by the emergency/israeli bandage

Abstract

The primary objective of the study was to determine the amount of pressure exerted by a bandage modified with a "pressure bar." The data were collected using Emergency Bandages with and without the pressure bar. In addition to measuring the pressure under the pressure bar, other pressure sensors were used to measure the pressure being exerted to other areas under the elastic Emergency Bandage (at 90°, 180°, and 270°), but not directly under the pressure bar to determine the effectiveness of the pressure bar bandage to apply localized pressure over a wound without applying unnecessary pressure over the other areas. Two sets of statistical tests conducted: "t-tests" assuming unequal variances from two samples and the "analysis of variance" (ANOVA), single factor. From the results, it is concluded that the Emergency Bandage pressure bar is very effective in elevating the applied pressure directly under the pressure bar while at the same time not applying unnecessary pressure over other areas covered by the bandage, which allows control of hemorrhage at the site of injury (under the pressure bar area) without having to have a full tourniquet effect. Perfusion of the capillaries of the hand and fingers were found to be adequate by observation of the fingers tips (finger nail quick) and subjective pulse measurement at the wrist (radial artery). Copyright © by Association of Military Surgeons of U.S., 2009.