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P arker F lex‐ T ip or standard tracheal tube for percutaneous emergency airway access?
Author(s) -
BAKER P. A.,
FERNANDEZ T. M. A.,
HAMAEKERS A. E.,
THOMPSON J. M. D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/aas.12042
Subject(s) - medicine , tracheal tube , tube (container) , airway , cadaver , airway management , surgery , anesthesia , mechanical engineering , engineering
Background Percutaneous emergency airway access ( PEAA ) can be established utilising a scalpel, bougie and cuffed tracheal tube. The study compared the Parker Flex‐Tip tracheal tube with a standard tracheal tube for PEAA in cadavers. We hypothesised that a standard tracheal tube would be more likely to advance over a bougie into the trachea during a PEAA procedure than a P arker F lex‐ T ip tracheal tube. Methods Three anaesthetists performed a PEAA with a scalpel, bougie and cuffed tracheal tube, 12 times each. Recorded times included: loading the tracheal tube onto the bougie and advancing the tube over the bougie to the skin, advancing the tube through the skin into the trachea and completion of the whole procedure. Subjective opinion regarding the ease of tube insertion was recorded by visual analogue scoring.Results Subjective opinion, overall time and time to complete each component of the procedure were not significantly affected by the type of tube used. The mean time for three novice anaesthetists to complete PEAA on a cadaver was 37.5 (8.8) s, after 1 h of training. In two of the 12 cadavers, the cricothyroid membrane could not be palpated or located with the scalpel. Conclusion The P arker Fl ex‐ T ip tube and a standard tracheal tube perform equally well during PEAA procedures on adult cadavers.