Military medicine
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Case Reports Comparative Study
Bystander cricothyroidotomy performed with an improvised airway.
We report a roadside cricothyroidotomy successfully performed with only a pocketknife and the drinking straw from a sports bottle. Our study compared the adequacy of standard medical airway devices with some readily available nonmedical items that might be used as temporary tracheostomy tubes (TT). ⋯ This is the first study to compare available nonmedical items that might be used as temporary TTs for bystander cricothyroidotomy. Two types of straws found on sports bottles had relatively low Raw compared with standard TTs. However, the barrel from a ballpoint pen had a much higher Raw and is an unacceptable choice.