The COVID-19 pandemic raises the need from EMS to transfer patients from heavily affected regions to hospitals that have the capability to provide more advanced treatment – particularly for those ventilated and in need of intensive care. In addition, global demand in procuring ventilators, and lack of readily supply raises the need for self-sufficiency in acquiring or creating new ventilator prototypes.
Creating a patent airway by cricothyrotomy is the ultimate maneuver to allow oxygenation (and ventilation) of the patient. Given the rarity of airway management catastrophes necessitating cricothyrotomy, sufficiently sized prospective randomized trials are difficult to perform. Our Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) documents all cases electronically, allowing a retrospective analysis of a larger database for all cases of prehospital cricothyrotomy.
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