Tactical Emergency Medical Support

Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) involves the multidimensional provision of medical care during and surrounding high-threat civilian law enforcement operations. TEMS providers with specialized training and ballistic protective equipment initiate medical care in high-threat environments, bridging a critical gap between points of injury and conventional emergency medical resources. The practice of TEMS has been influenced significantly by the trauma care experience of military combat medics confronted with battlefield injuries. Important differences exist between casualty care in the military and civilian settings, prompting the development of best practice TEMS guidelines for high-threat civilian incidents. Explosions and blast incidents have the potential to cause a wide variety of physical injuries, which can range in severity from mild to life-threatening. A thorough understanding of the complex injuries that may result from explosions and blast incidents is key to effective recognition and clinical management by civilian prehospital responders including TEMS providers.