Rockwall County EMS has added two tools to its emergency care: blood transfusions in the field and the Abdominal Aortic Junctional Tourniquet, known as the AAJT. The department says the upgrades let paramedics treat severe injuries before patients reach the hospital.
Before this change, patients with severe blood loss had to wait until they arrived at a hospital to receive blood. With field transfusions, the department says it can stabilize patients on site and work to prevent shock during transport. The service gets blood products through partnerships with Carter BloodCare and the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council.
The AAJT is meant to control severe bleeding in areas where traditional tourniquets may not work, including the pelvis, groin and armpits. The department says the device is compact, portable and easy to apply, and that it can stop bleeding in seconds. It can be used together with blood transfusions.