Military Anti-Shock Trousers (MAST)
OVERVIEW
- inflatable trousers once recommended for exsanguinating pelvic injury, now considered obsolete
- aka “pneumatic anti-shock garments” (PASG)
USE
- no longer recommended
DESCRIPTION
- trousers that can be inflated with a pump
METHOD OF USE
- placed on the lower limbs of the patient
- each leg and pelvic segment is inflated
- can be used with splints and dressings in place
COMPLICATIONS
- exacerbation of limb ischaemia
- pressure ulcers over bony prominences
- possibly increasing bleeding due to improved MAP
- decompensation with removal
CONTRA-INDICATIONS
- ruptured diaphragm
- pregnancy
- pulmonary oedema
OTHER INFORMATION
- invented in 1903 but introduced widely into practice during the Vietnam War
- MAST suits improve blood pressure but have been associated with worse outcomes, particularly in the subgroup with thoracic trauma
References and Links
- Lateef F, Kelvin T. Military anti-shock garment: Historical relic or a device with unrealized potential? J Emerg Trauma Shock. 2008 Jul;1(2):63-9. PMC2700619.
- Dickinson K, Roberts I. Medical anti-shock trousers (pneumatic anti-shock garments) for circulatory support in patients with trauma. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(2):CD001856. PMID: 10796828.
Critical Care
Compendium
Chris is an Intensivist and ECMO specialist at the Alfred ICU in Melbourne. He is also a Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University. He is a co-founder of the Australia and New Zealand Clinician Educator Network (ANZCEN) and is the Lead for the ANZCEN Clinician Educator Incubator programme. He is on the Board of Directors for the Intensive Care Foundation and is a First Part Examiner for the College of Intensive Care Medicine. He is an internationally recognised Clinician Educator with a passion for helping clinicians learn and for improving the clinical performance of individuals and collectives.
After finishing his medical degree at the University of Auckland, he continued post-graduate training in New Zealand as well as Australia’s Northern Territory, Perth and Melbourne. He has completed fellowship training in both intensive care medicine and emergency medicine, as well as post-graduate training in biochemistry, clinical toxicology, clinical epidemiology, and health professional education.
He is actively involved in in using translational simulation to improve patient care and the design of processes and systems at Alfred Health. He coordinates the Alfred ICU’s education and simulation programmes and runs the unit’s education website, INTENSIVE. He created the ‘Critically Ill Airway’ course and teaches on numerous courses around the world. He is one of the founders of the FOAM movement (Free Open-Access Medical education) and is co-creator of litfl.com, the RAGE podcast, the Resuscitology course, and the SMACC conference.
His one great achievement is being the father of three amazing children.
On Twitter, he is @precordialthump.
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