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Doppler beats pulse check after tourniquet

Comparison of Pulse Palpation and Paramedic-Performed Doppler Ultrasonography for Assessing Distal Circulation After Tourniquet Application: A Randomized Crossover Study
Healthcare · Added 13 October 2026

Randomised crossover study of 41 practising paramedics assessing distal circulation after tourniquet application found paramedic-performed Doppler ultrasonography beat pulse palpation on sensitivity (88.9% vs 66.7%) and accuracy (90.2% vs 78.0%) against an assessor-Doppler reference.

Study type

Simulation

Design

Prospective randomised crossover

Participants

41 actively practising paramedics, upper-extremity tourniquet application

Main finding

Pulse palpation sensitivity 66.7%, specificity 87.0%, accuracy 78.0%; paramedic Doppler sensitivity 88.9%, specificity 91.3%, accuracy 90.2%

Caveat

Laboratory-style setup on healthy volunteers with a simulated injury model — not bleeding patients in the field

Bottom line

Hypothesis-generating

Learning goal

Weigh pulse palpation against handheld Doppler for confirming distal circulation after tourniquet application in trauma care.

More

• Topic: Trauma
• Daily scan: 13 October 2026

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