Annals of emergency medicine
-
The records of all patients who presented to a Level 1 trauma center during a two-year period for whom a prehospital cricothyrotomy was attempted or ordered were reviewed. Twenty patients met the study criteria. The average age was 37 years (range, 11 to 65 years). ⋯ These preliminary findings demonstrate that prehospital cricothyrotomy is being used chiefly in massively injured patients who are already beyond recovery. It is thus difficult to assess whether the procedure is either safe or effective. There is a need for further investigation to determine whether prehospital cricothyrotomy has any beneficial effect on outcome and, if so, in what setting.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)