EMERGENCY CASEBOOK
Emergency use of the Airtraq laryngoscope in traumatic asphyxia: case report
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
J J M Black
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; john.black{at}seh.ox.ac.uk
This case report describes the emergency use of a novel, single-use, anatomically shaped laryngoscope that has recently become commercially available in the UK (Airtraq, Prodol Meditec, Spain). It was used to successfully intubate a severely injured 41-year-old patient who had sustained traumatic asphyxia after attempting suicide by hanging. He was bleeding into his upper airway, necessitating regular suctioning. The patient underwent an emergency rapid sequence intubation at the scene of injury, with in-line immobilisation and cricoid pressure while lying on the ground in bright sunlight. A Cormack and Lehane grade 1 view of the oedematous vocal cords was readily obtained, and successful endotracheal intubation was rapidly achieved at the first attempt. The endotracheal tube was clearly seen to pass through the vocal cords and enter the trachea. The Airtraq required minimal manipulation to obtain a close-up, panoramic, high-grade view of the larynx. Further evaluation of this device is warranted to define its role in the emergency department and in prehospital care.
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Hirabayashi, Y, Seo, N
(2009). Airtraq optical laryngoscope: tracheal intubation by novice laryngoscopists. Emerg. Med. J.
26: 112-113
[Abstract] [Full Text]
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Correction (v24,p685)
- Submit a response
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
