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Emergency airway management in patients with cervical spine injuries
Author(s) -
Criswell J. C.,
Parr M. J. A.,
Nolan J. P.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1994.tb04271.x
Subject(s) - medicine , airway management , airway , cervical spine , cricoid pressure , confidence interval , anesthesia , rapid sequence induction , retrospective cohort study , surgery , intubation
Summary A retrospective study of admissions to a Level 1 Trauma Centre, revealed 393 patients with traumatic cervical spine injuries. All 36 patients intubated urgently and 37 and 68 patients intubated between 30min and 24 h of admission, were intubated orally, following a rapid sequence induction with the application of cricoid pressure and manual in‐line stabilisation of the head and neck. There were no neurological sequelae in these 73 patients (95% confidence interval 0–4%). This technique for airway management is described in detail. It is a safe, familiar, and effective method for securing the airway in patients with cervical spine injury.