Darkstar Medical

Body substance isolation! Protect yourself and your patient. Gloves can improvise as a half-assed occlusive if you didn't pack a HyFin, or to store loose teeth (true story). We like North American Rescues BearClaw Glove Kit. Large gloves in a small package, but we're running a 2-set special on large sterile nitriles here. 

In order to treat it, you have to get to it, and a quality pair of shears is essential in making that happen.  We carry Shear Techs by EMI. It boasts several functions, but we just dig its sheer power. One may be enough for your IFAK, but you dedicated medics might consider carrying several options. Shears are great in the field, but also check out bandages, tissue, and iris scissors.

More than just BSI, a splash of any fluid in the face can shift your focus from patient care. Eye-pro doesn't need to be Oakleys, just something durable that packs right on top of your bag. We like Pyramax Pacificas. They're one step above your old BCG's and that's good enough for us. 

Working in the dark can be a fun training exercise, but in the realzies, light can be a game-changer. On offer, we have the TMT A1 by 5.11. Consider a headlamp for that hands-free illumination. 

Use of the tourniquet over the past 3 decades has progressed from "treatment-of-last-resort" to one of the primary tools for uncontrollable life-threatening extremity hemorrhage. Application of a TQ is the only treatment issued in CUF. We carry North American Rescue's C-A-T (Combat application tourniquet). It satisfies all TCCC requirements. Check the demo video below. Packing consideration: IS ONE ENOUGH??

For options look at the SOF-T.  For kids and dogs, we like the RATTS. 

The gold standard for direct pressure is no less than 5 minutes. The proper application of a hemostatic agent to the point of wounding can drop this time down to 3 minutes. Check our video demo below. We carry Celox Rapid Z-Fold. 3 grams of CHITO clot-making magic impregnated in 5 feet of Z-folded love, perfect for packing. You can compare with Combat Gauze and HemCon. 

There may be nothing sexy about white-and-fluffy, but it remains the unchallenged king of wound packing and direct pressure application. Packing large wounds helps disperse direct pressure. You can never have too much. If, after packing your medical kit you still have room, add more roll gauze. Close to home we roll with Kerlix, the industry standard for hospitals, but we travel with compressed gauze from NAR.  Other  tacmed options at H&H. 

White & fluffy starts the show, but after direct pressure converts to a dressing, compression keeps it all in place tight, where it needs to be. We carry Izzy compression dressings in both 6 and 4 inch models. Also check Israeli's,  Chinooks Emergency Compression Dressing, and good ole' fashioned ACE wraps. 

See demo vid on NAR's Jett system. 

For many, oral airways have fallen second string to nasopharyngeal routes. For others, OPA's remain the gold standard for supporting the unresponsive airway. We offer Berman's 6 piece set. Who are your patients? What size are they? 

Easy to insert, nasopharyngeal airways are the industry standard for primary upper airway management in patients without head trauma. Ensure you have the skills. Ensure you have the correct size you need. 28f is the most common size for adult males, 26f for adult females, or carry a range, Ours have lube co-packaged so you'll have what you need when you need it.  

For air to travel into the lungs, the upper airway needs to be free of fluids. Positioning can only do so much. Options range from the improvised portability of a large bore NPA attached to a toomy, to high-end powered options, we're using this manual suction pump from Curalex.

Surgical airway kits truly boil down to the crich hook, and even that can be modified. But a hook is essential, and it is convenient to have everything in one slick package. We carry an older NAR tactical kit. 

An alternative to intubation, LMA's offer a fast way to ensure a patent upper airway, by blocking the esophagus and directing respirations into the lungs. Do it right, attach it to your BVM, and now you've got a free hand. Priceless. 

We carry iGel Supraglottic airways. You can also shop King LT and CombiTube. 

Coming soon.

A bag valve mask is the tool of choice for offering extended effective respiratory assistance. We offer the AmbuSpur 2 or compact the collapsable Pocket BVM by Micro BVM for the deployment medic. 

An untreated collapsed lung is the second most common cause of preventable traumatic death. TCCC recommends  "sealing the box", using occlusive dressings for all deep wounds of the trunk. This can improvised with saran-wrap or other plastics, but we carry the Hyfin Vent twin pack. When properly managed, the vented system addresses dangerously high intra-thoracic pressure and the twin pack ensures a second dressing is available for exit wounds. 

For options look at HALO, BOLIN, ASHERMAN and SAM. 

An untreated collapsed lung is the second leading cause of preventable traumatic death. This progressive disorder can take over an hour to become fatal. Bbut for extended care of casualties who present signs and symptoms of a tension pneumothorax, trained medics can relieve with successful needle decompression. Make sure you're running at least 3.25 in length! We offer North American Rescue ARS Needle for Decompression. For options H&H makes a comparable. 

Check a great demo vid by NAR below. 

We love our Littman, but if you dont have a couple hundred to spend, check out our Pro Sprague Rappaport. 

The successful application of an external defib shock increases cardiac arrest survival rates up to 33%.

Carrying a BP cuff means more than just getting a blood pressure. That soon-as-appropriate baseline measurement will help establish trends. The ability to collect detailed information on cardiac function as well as orthostatics is essential in extended or remote care environments. 

Arguably the best field tool for collecting a systemic circulatory assessment. 

Coming soon.

Yea, new thought is leading us to withold fluids on trauma. Gone are the days of 2 large bore wide open. As long as we can keep systolic BP above 90mmhg, permissive hypotension is favorable to blowing the clot we worked so hard to get. That being said, we're all about getting access. Nothing wrong with placing a cath and capping before veins flatten out. We use a start kit from Curaplex, complete with Tegaderm. 

Gone are the days of blindly pushing fluid expanders into our bleeding traumatic patients. Thoughts on permissive hypotension suggest a systolic above 90mmhg is acceptable if hemostasis is a struggle. If fluids become part of your protocol, talk to us about medical direction. 

COMING SOON.

The #1 cause of the busted clot we worked so hard to achieve is patient handling. Splinting helps prevent this and is a method of pain control. Yea, you can do it with cardboard, pillows, and your nasty belt, but we come prepared with purpose-made SAM splints. They are and have been the industry leader for decades and we know why. What else do you need for effective splinting? You got ACE?

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Pelvic binder info

Tactical Combat Casualty Care is the system of choice for military / LEO units worldwide. Using evidence-based medicine, TCCC addresses the most common causes of preventable traumatic death. Learn how treatments are applied by initial responders in less-than-safe scenarios. Comprehensive approaches to massive bleeding are followed by advanced airway management and respiratory corrections. Shock, head and thermic concerns round out the algorithm. Scenarios build muscle memory and a 2-year certifi

TECC

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