FreshRSS

🔒
☐ ☆ ✇ BMJ Open

Comparison of inguinal fist compression versus commercial windlass tourniquet for reduction in femoral artery blood flow by untrained providers: a protocol for a superiority, assessor-blinded, cross-over, randomised controlled trial

Por: Bruce · K. · Snelling · P. J. · Abery · P. · Kemp-Smith · K. · Lamond · D. · Taylor · N. · Patel · B. · Jones · P. · Furness · J. — Octubre 17th 2025 at 11:49
Introduction

Effective haemorrhage control is crucial in cases of limb trauma involving arterial injury, such as shark attacks, to prevent potentially fatal outcomes. International first aid consensus recommends the use of arterial tourniquets (proprietary or makeshift) as a primary treatment for life-threatening external bleeding. Manual pressure applied directly over a major artery proximal to the injury, such as inguinal fist compression (IFC), is more accessible in a first-aid situation, but is currently not recommended due to limited evidence. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the application of IFC is superior to commercial windlass tourniquets (CWTs) in reducing blood flow in the femoral artery when performed by untrained bystanders.

Methods and analysis

Stopping Haemorrhage by Application of Randomised Compression or Tourniquet (SHARC-2) is a superiority, assessor-blinded, cross-over, randomised controlled trial conducted with healthy untrained adult volunteers in non-clinical settings. Participants will be rotated as providers and recipients of both IFC and CWT, with providers randomised to the order that they perform the techniques. Providers will be exposed to an educational infographic before applying that technique to a recipient behind a drop sheet. A sonographer, blinded to the technique, will measure the peak systolic velocity of blood flow in the superficial femoral artery using Doppler ultrasound at baseline and then during application of each technique for 5 min. The mean percentage reduction in peak systolic velocity will be compared between IFC and CWT groups.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval for this study was granted by the Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee (BUHREC JF01036) on 23 January 2023. All participants will be provided with written informed consent prior to enrolment and the trial will involve healthy adult volunteers. To minimise risk, preintervention screening, sonographic assessment and postintervention follow-up will be implemented with adverse events monitored and reported in accordance with HREC guidelines. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences, local resuscitation forums and public health education initiatives. A lay summary will also be shared with relevant community groups and via social media platforms to enhance public accessibility.

Trial registration number

ACTRN12624001054505.

☐ ☆ ✇ Journal of Clinical Nursing

The Outcomes of A Multifaceted Educational Intervention to Reduce Moral Distress Among Critical Care Nurses

ABSTRACT

Aim

To measure the outcome of the implementation of a multifaceted educational intervention on the impact of moral distress among critical care nurses.

Background

The complex nature of critical care settings exaggerates different morally distressing situations that require ongoing development of interventions to mitigate the impact of moral distress. Despite the availability of research that has addressed moral distress among nurses in the literature, there is a debate about the effectiveness of the applied interventions in reducing moral distress.

Design

A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group study design.

Methods

Critical care nurses in two public hospitals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE enrolled in a study that extended over 6 months. Hospital A was assigned as an experimental group (n = 76) and received four educational sessions and three booster sessions. Hospital B was assigned as a control group (n = 82) and didn't receive any moral distress-related education. The Measure of Moral Distress for Health Care Professionals questionnaire and the Moral Distress Thermometer were utilised to measure the participants' moral distress frequency, intensity, and composite scores pre- and post-intervention and identify the outcomes.

Results

The multifaceted educational intervention exhibited statistically significant reductions in the experimental group frequency, intensity, and composite moral distress scores post-test. Conversely, moral distress scores were increased among the control group. Moreover, the intervention significantly reduced the number of nurses who intended to leave their positions from 58 nurses to 47 nurses in the experimental group.

Conclusion

The multifaceted educational intervention exerts positive outcomes in reducing moral distress across all the dimensions and improving the nurses' retention.

Relevance to Clinical Practice

The intervention provides materials that could enhance the nurses' moral knowledge and skills. It provides different tools, techniques, and strategies to help the nurses address and manage their moral distress.

❌