Comparison of Two Open Surgical Cricothyroidotomy Techniques by Medics using a Cadaver Model

Robert L. Mary, MD; Alan Frankfurt, MD

The Journal of Special Operations Medicine

J Spec Oper Med. 2012 Spring;12(1):17-23.

#### Description with Key Points:

The CricKey is a novel surgical cricothyroidotomy device combining the functions of a tracheal hook, stylet, dilator, and bougie incorporated with a Melker airway cannula. This study compares surgical cricothyroidotomy with standard open surgical versus CricKey technique.

#### Label

Participants included US Army combat medics credentialed at the emergency medical technician–basic level. After a brief anatomy review and demonstration, 15 military medics with minimal training performed in random order standard open surgical cricothyroidotomy and CricKey surgical cricothyroidotomy on cadavers. Compared with the standard open surgical cricothyroidotomy technique, military medics demonstrated faster insertion with the CricKey. First-pass success was not signiﬁcantly different between the techniques.

A Comparison of Two Open Surgical Cricothyroidotomy Techniques by Military Medics Using a Cadaver Model
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## Take Home Message:

Medics were able to insert the Cric-Key insignificantly less time (34 sec vs 65 sec.)
Though not statistically significant, there were three failures with the open surgical technique, and none with the Cric-Key.
Under test conditions, medics were faster and more successful using the Cric-Key technique compared to the open surgical technique.