Comparison of emergency airway management techniques in the performance of emergent Cricothyrotomy

This study aimed to identify major techniques used to perform EC in a regional trauma center and evaluate outcomes associated with the techniques.MethodsPatients who underwent EC at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center between 1-1-2009 and 1-1-2019 were reviewed for eligibility for this study. Patients ’ data were extracted from the trauma database. Chi-square tests were conducted to assess the difference on variables between the techniques.ResultsA total of 51 (0.17%) of these patients required EC and were included in the database. The two most prevalent techniques were the scalpel-bougie-tube (SBT) and the surgical cricothyrotomy technique (SCT). More than half (n = 27, 52.9%) of the cohort received the SBT. There was no statistically significant difference between the two techniques with regards to demographic variables, including age (p = 0.7528), injury severity score (ISS,p = 0.896), gender (p = 0.3709), and race (p = 0.8935). However, the SCT group had a statistically higher Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS) than the SBT group (p = 0.0036). There was no statistically significant difference in mortality or complications between these two groups (p = 0.2172 for mortality).DiscussionTwo techniques of EC were identified as preferred techniques. Both procedures were successful in securing an emergency airway, noting a difference in the time to completion of the two techniques. Given the rarity of the procedure, practitioners may choose the method based on t...
Source: International Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research