McIntosh Scott E, Swanson Eric R, Barton Erik D
University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
J Trauma. 2008 Jun;64(6):1543-7. doi: 10.1097/TA.0b013e3181271b60.
Airway management is an essential skill for air medical transport (AMT) providers. The endpoint of airway maneuvers is a cricothyrotomy which may be live-saving if other measures fail. We reviewed cricothyrotomy cases in our AMT program to evaluate the success rate and the circumstances surrounding the procedure.
This was a retrospective review of cases in which a cricothyrotomy was performed at the University of Utah AirMed flight program during the years of 1995 to 2004. Data included incidence, indications, complications, neurologic outcome, and success rates of the procedure.
Of the 14,994 transports during the study period, 17 cricothyrotomies were performed. Airway obstruction by blood and/or vomit was the most frequent indication (47%) followed by airway edema/distorted anatomy (24%). The total number of cricothyrotomies decreased during the study period. Seven (41%) patients survived with a reasonable neurologic outcome. The remaining 10 patients died during initial treatment or subsequent hospitalization. Success rate of the procedure in our series was 100%. These results were compared with those of other cricothyrotomy studies.
Cricothyrotomy has become less common as an emergency rescue technique. However, AMT personnel have a high success rate when performing the cricothyrotomy procedure. This rate is as high as or higher than other emergency personnel.
气道管理是空中医疗运输（AMT）提供者的一项基本技能。气道操作的最终手段是环甲膜切开术，如果其他措施失败，这可能是救命的。我们回顾了我们AMT项目中的环甲膜切开术病例，以评估成功率和该手术的相关情况。
这是一项对1995年至2004年期间在犹他大学空中医疗飞行项目中进行环甲膜切开术的病例的回顾性研究。数据包括发病率、适应症、并发症、神经学结果和该手术的成功率。
在研究期间的14994次运输中，进行了17次环甲膜切开术。血液和/或呕吐物导致的气道阻塞是最常见的适应症（47%），其次是气道水肿/解剖结构扭曲（24%）。在研究期间，环甲膜切开术的总数有所下降。7名（41%）患者存活，神经学结果良好。其余10名患者在初始治疗或随后的住院期间死亡。我们系列中该手术的成功率为100%。这些结果与其他环甲膜切开术研究的结果进行了比较。
环甲膜切开术作为一种紧急救援技术已变得不那么常见。然而，AMT人员在进行环甲膜切开术时成功率很高。这个比率与其他急救人员一样高或更高。
