title: [Tourniquet use in civil and military medicines].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this literature review is, after a history and a point about current situation, to present the military use and precautions of use of tourniquet for civil and military medicine.
  
  
  METHODS
  A review of the Anglo-Saxon and French literature was performed in PUBMED database, from 1962 to 2012. The research was conducted using the following keywords: "tourniquet", "complications", "haemorrhage", "emergency", "military medicine", used alone or in combination.
  
  
  METHODS
  The extracted data concerned the history, the epidemiology, the interest of tourniquet during peacetime and wartime, adverse effects and the ratio benefit/risk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The tourniquet is "a device which is tightened, in case of haemorrhage, around a limb in order to slow or stop the venous or arterial circulation before surgery…". This item is thus used in surgery to reduce intraoperative bleeding and in emergency medicine as a rescue technique for bleeding places non accessible to compression or to other technical hemostasis. It is also used for treating bleeding of mass casualties. However, its use is too poorly managed by health professionals and it remains risky. Recent armed conflicts have yet revived its day use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The tourniquet has utility in times of war and in peacetime. In each case, indications and complications must be known.
authors.affiliation: Département d'anesthésie et réanimation, hôpital d'instruction des armées Percy, 101, avenue Henri-Barbusse, 92141 Clamart, France. Electronic address: sol.paul@live.fr.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Département d'anesthésie et réanimation, hôpital d'instruction des armées Percy, 101, avenue Henri-Barbusse, 92141 Clamart, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Debien
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000266:history*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014111:Tourniquets / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000266:history / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Complications; Effets secondaires; Emergency; Garrot; Haemorrhage; Hémorragie; Military medicine; Médecine d’urgence; Médecine militaire; Tourniquet