Prehospital cricothyroidotomy by physicians.
To evaluate cricothyroidotomy in the field and the influence of physicians' medical specialty or previous experience on the success rate of this procedure, a retrospective study was conducted. Between October 1991 and April 1995, 29 cricothyroidotomies were performed in the prehospital setting in Israel. Twenty-six (89.6%) cricothyroidotomies were successfully performed. There was no evidence of higher success rate when the performers were surgeons, anesthesiologists, or intensive care specialists (100% success), compared to that of all other specialties (83.33%). All physicians had successfully completed the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course, but only three had previously performed cricothyroidotomy. Acute complications included failure to establish an airway in 3 cases, minor bleeding in 2 cases, and an air leak around the cannula in 1 patient. These results show that following brief training (eg, the ATLS course) physicians are capable of performing emergency cricothyroidotomy in the field with a high success rate and minimal complications, regardless of medical specialty.
Leibovici
D
D
I.D.F. Medical Corps, Meir Medical Center, Israel.
Fredman
B
B
Gofrit
O N
ON
Shemer
J
J
Blumenfeld
A
A
Shapira
S C
SC
D000328:Adult; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000601:surgery*; D003413:Cricoid Cartilage / Q000601:surgery*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome