B-CON Course: Skills Acquired at Training in Bleeding Control Techniques for the Prevention of Exsanguinating Hemorrhage

Introduction: Bleeding is one of the main causes of death associated with trauma. In the general population, knowledge of techniques to control bleeding is scarce or null in most situations, as well as the tools needed to perform them. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) “Stop the Bleed” campaign has the objective of training non-medical personnel to perform life-saving maneuvers to control bleeding in emergency and trauma situations. Materials and methods: A prospective, observational study. Surveys were conducted on knowledge of maneuvers to control bleeding among non-medical personnel. The training was done using the “Stop the Bleeding” B-CON Course of the ACS followed by evaluations. Results: Four hundred and twelve non-medical military personnel were trained, of whom 320 were medical students 27 surgical assistants, 35 nursing assistants, and 30 members of the armed forces. 92.7% (382) had no previous knowledge of any of the maneuvers. 73.3% (302) had some familiarity with tourniquets, of whom 6.55% (27) knew how to apply it. One hundred percent reported being unprepared to perform the maneuvers on their own before the course. Evaluation: after taking the course, 401 (92.3%) were able to correctly place the tourniquet on others, while 223 (54.1%) were able to apply on themselves. All participants (100%) performed wound compression correctly. Three hundred and forty-one (82.7%) reported feeling fully capable to perform the maneuvers after the course, while 71 (17.2%) requested to repeat it. One hundred percent of the respondents reported that the acquired skills and knowledge were beneficial. Conclusion: The training of non-medical military personnel, as well as the general population, may be valuable to reduce deaths caused by exsanguinating hemorrhage. The authors believe educational programs are recommended and should be implemented in the general civilian and military communities as well as making the necessary tools widely available. The active participation of the medical community and their continuous interaction with the general population via injury prevention activities are important to reduce deaths caused by trauma.