Retrograde technique for tracheal intubation in trauma patients.
Nineteen trauma patients with either maxillofacial trauma or cervical spine fracture were orotracheally intubated over a guidewire percutaneously inserted through the cricothyroid membrane into the mouth in a retrograde fashion. In 13 patients, conventional techniques failed (average number of attempts 6 +/- 1, mean duration 18 +/- 1 min); in six patients, the initial method of choice was a retrograde technique. In all patients, retrograde technique succeeded on only one attempt (duration less than 5 min in all cases). No serious complication could be related to this technique; it is an easy, safe, efficacious method for difficult tracheal intubation in trauma patients.
Barriot
P
P
Service de Santé de la Brigade des Sapeurs Pompiers de Paris, France.
Riou
B
B
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000628:therapy*