Author: Richard Yocum MD

Medical News: Tourniquet Applications in Backcountry

Tourniquets play a critical role in the control of bleeding, generally after failure of well-aimed, direct, firm, manual pressure and wound packing.  Tourniquet lessons learned from the military battlefield are applicable to non-military wilderness and austere environments, given the delayed time to definitive care and often absence of higher-level medical professionals.  Current knowledge refutes earlier

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Prevention and Treatment of Frostbite in the Backcountry

Richard Yocum, MD, San Diego Mountain Rescue Team and Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit Frostbite is a painful condition often resulting in loss of tissue that is usually preventable. The Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) published a 2019 update to their clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of frostbite1 , which serves as the primary

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