Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC): Principles and Practice

Abstract

Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) is a civilian adaptation of the principles of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC). It takes into account the tactical environment and objectives and balances priorities in a risk-benefit strategy in order to provide goals of care that are feasible. TECC also takes into account providers ranging from civilian bystanders to fully trained surgeons and their various scopes of practice to render recommendations at various phases of care. The importance of hemorrhage control is stressed, but other causes of potentially preventable death such as pneumothorax and loss of airway are also addressed. Care is divided into Hot, Warm, and Cold Zones with specific objectives and interventions geared to minimize risk to the provider while maximizing patient benefit. Ultimately, the biggest opportunity to mitigate preventable death remains the rapid evacuation of wounded to appropriate definitive care facilities.