The effect of cold exposure on tourniquet application ability : the effect of cold hand-skin temperatures on medical laypeople’s ability to apply a tourniquet

Abstract: Educating medical laypeople in first aid for massive bleeds improves the injured person’s chance of survival when they act as an immediate responder. Although research has been done on different stressors that affect the medical laypeople’s first aid ability, the effect of cold remains unexplored. Cold has been found to decrease finger dexterity and could hence have a negative effect on the first aid ability. This study investigates the potential effect of cold on medical laypeople’s tourniquet application ability and their experienced stress. The results show that 8 degrees C hand-skin temperature significantly increases the total time and time until bleeding control is achieved. Cold exposure can decrease the chance of survival for the injured person when an immediate responder provides first aid for a massive bleed. Future research should therefore be aimed at finding suitable mitigation strategies for the effect and testing their viability in the presence of additional stressors.