Emergency cricothyrotomy

Emergency cricothyrotomy is a potentially lifesaving procedure in a “failure to intubate, failure to ventilate” scenario. It should be performed in instances when other means of securing a definitive airway during an emergency have failed, and prolonged inability to maintain adequate patient ventilation may have disastrous consequences. This article describes two techniques (with illustrations) that are effective in rapidly accessing the trachea to provide ventilation when standard airway techniques have failed. Familiarity with these techniques can provide the practitioner with the ability to restore adequate ventilation to a patient who might otherwise suffer irreversible hypoxic injury or death.