Beyond the Ambulance: The Critical Role of Tactical Emergency Casualty Care in Civilian Prehospital Care

Abstract

The increasing frequency of mass casualty incidents caused by antagonistic forces, along with the rise of unconventional traumatic injuries in the United States, underscores the urgent need for a standardized prehospital trauma course. This clinical review examines Tactical Emergency Casualty Care as the essential minimum standard for prehospital trauma training for paramedics. TECC, the civilian adaptation of Tactical Combat Casualty Care, incorporates medical advancements from the military field into civilian prehospital care for critically injured patients. A literature search of PubMed identified relevant articles from the past decade, highlighting the need for changes in prehospital medicine due to the unique challenges of unconventional mass casualty incidents. The rise in mass casualty incidents over recent decades further emphasizes the necessity for standardized trauma training protocols. However, various logistical and systemic challenges may impede the widespread adoption of Tactical Combat Casualty Care as the minimum standard for training in trauma care, from initial wound management to patient handover to higher levels of care. Additional research is needed to evaluate the impact of trauma training for prehospital providers on patient outcomes.