Tape Measures & Tourniquets

Types Of Medical Tape Measures

Medical tape measures tend to fall into two broad categories:

Reusable Body Tape Measures

Body (anthropometric) tape measures are used to measure patients’ waist, hips, neck, chest, thigh circumference and a range of other measurements that inform a diagnosis and subsequent treatment procedures. They are typically designed to retract into a small plastic case for portability and ease of use, and are available in a range of lengths – including bariatric tapes which are longer than average (typically around 200cm-300cm compared to the standard 150cm) to accommodate abdominal obesity. Some body measuring tapes are colour-coded to indicate healthy and unhealthy body measurements, and an increasing number feature an integral BMI calculator.

Disposable Tape Measures

Single-use, disposable tape measures are ideal when hygiene control is paramount – for example, preventing cross-infection by using a paper or see-through film ruler to measure the dimensions of a wound, including length and depth. This enables the most appropriate wound-care plan to be developed, including accurate assessment of the quantity of solution and the type of dressing required. Transparent film “bulls-eye” overlay guides are ideal for documenting the progression of wound closure.

Because of their softness and flexibility, disposable paper tape measures are used for baby measurements shortly after birth and during routine health and development reviews. As well as straight tapes, circumference tape is also available specifically for measuring the head.

Tips For Using A Body Tape Measure

• Measurements are best made on bare skin, with the tape snug against the body but not digging in.
• Ensure the stays tape parallel to the floor when taking waist, chest, hips, thighs and neck measurements.
• For waist and hip measurements, hold the tape measure in place, then ask the patient to inhale and exhale to ensure the abdomen is fully relaxed before taking the reading.
• To ensure accuracy, best practice is to make two sets of measurements.

Quick Facts About Tape Measures

• In the States, July 14 is National Tape Measure Day – celebrating the anniversary of the patent for the first spring-loaded tape measure with a locking mechanism to prevent unwanted retraction.
• The world’s longest tape measure is gold-plated and comes in at an impressive 180m. It’s probably not on the shopping list of a primary care trust near you.

What Are Tourniquets?

Tourniquets are compression devices that prevent blood flow to a limb by constricting the blood vessels. Their use dates back thousands of years, with Alexander the Great’s army known to have applied tourniquets to staunch blood loss in injured soldiers, and they remain a major lifesaver on the modern battlefield.

Care must be taken when using any type of tourniquet – applying too tightly, or not tightly enough, and for too long, can lead to complications including permanent nerve and muscle injury, skin necrosis, blood vessel damage, compartment syndrome and reperfusion injury.

For Peripheral Venipuncture

Taking blood used to be the preserve of the phlebotomist, but it’s now a routine part of the nurse’s role. Partially blocking venous blood flow with a tourniquet causes the blood to pool, making the vein easier to access and draw blood from. A scoping review conducted in 2019 found that of 1,479 tourniquets tested for microbacterial contamination, 29.8% were harbouring gram-positive staphylococci, so cleaning with an alcohol wipe between patients is essential.

Emergency

Catastrophic arterial or venous haemorrhage can result in a 40% loss of blood volume in 3-4 minutes, leading to hypovolaemic shock. In out-of-hospital emergency care, use of a tourniquet by first responders is only advised as a last resort when direct pressure has failed to control bleeding, but it can be the difference between life and death.

Surgical Tourniquet

Occluding blood flow to a limb with a surgical tourniquet creates a bloodless operating field, which both reduces operative blood loss and enables the surgeon to work with greater accuracy and speed. It can also be used to administer intravenous regional anaesthesia (IVRA or Bier block).

Rehabilitation Tourniquet

During low-intensity rehabilitation exercise, constricting blood flow with a tourniquet accelerates the growth of muscle size and strength in the recovering limb.

Quick Facts About Tourniquet

• The name tourniquet comes from the French, “tourner” (to turn) and was first used by the Parisian surgeon Jean-Louis Petit to describe the screw-based tourniquet he invented in 1718.
• The ancient Romans used leather-covered bronze tourniquets when amputating to control haemorrhaging, despite the empire’s most famous physician, Galen, warning their use would actually exacerbate bleeding.