RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Tactical Combat Casualty Care in the Canadian Forces: lessons learned from the Afghan war
JF Canadian Journal of Surgery
JO CAN J SURG
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP S118
OP S123
DO 10.1503/cjs.025011
VO 54
IS 6 Suppl 1
A1 Savage, Erin
A1 Forestier, Colleen
A1 Withers, Nicholas
A1 Tien, Homer
A1 Pannell, Dylan
YR 2011
UL http://canjsurg.ca/content/54/6_Suppl_1/S118.abstract
AB Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) is intended to treat potentially preventable causes of death on the battlefield, but acknowledges that application of these treatments may place the provider and even the mission in jeopardy if performed at the wrong time. Therefore, TCCC classifies the tactical situation with respect to health care provision into 3 phases (care under fire, tactical field care and tactical evacuation) and only permits certain interventions to be performed in specific phases based on the danger to the provider and casualty. In the 6 years that the Canadian Forces (CF) have been involved in sustained combat operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan, more than 1000 CF members have been injured and more than 150 have been killed. As a result, the CF gained substantial experience delivering TCCC to wounded soldiers on the battlefield. The purpose of this paper is to review the principles of TCCC and some of the lessons learned about battlefield trauma care during this conflict.