Arterial Pressures in Tourniquet Shock

Abstract

Summary

Arterial pressure in rats with fatal tourniquet shock shows 3 main phases: (1) an abrupt fall immediately after tourniquet release, (2) sustained hypotension within a relatively narrow range during most of the shock state, and (3) a terminal more or less rapid decline associated with death. Only in the terminal period does profound hypotension intervene, with levels below 40 mm. Although arterial pressure is not a reliable index of the severity of tourniquet shock, the-absence of drastic hypotension might help explain why this form of shock is not irreversible.