Keychain Emergency Airway Device (Video)

Health professionals who know how to perform cricothyroidotomy to obtain an emergency airway in someone who is obstructing can appreciate a nifty keychain device called LifeStat.

LifeStat can be carried around and immediately utilized to perform emergency cricothyroidotomy in any setting.

Watch a video here to see how it works.

It can be purchase from Shippert Medical for $145 here.

Reference:
Utilization of the LifeStat emergency airway device. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2008 Jan;117(1):1-4.

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Best Ballpoint Pen for Emergency Cricothyroidotomy?

I recently blogged about a man who choked to death on an airplane and the impossibility of saving this man's life with a surgical airway like a cricothyroidotomy without a sharp object around inside the plane (ie, knife or scalpel).

I also stated that "Some surgeons would argue a strong, stiff ball-point pen could have been used to perform the cricothyroidotomy, but as someone who has performed a dozen emergency cricothyroidotomies and tracheotomies in the past, even under the best of circumstances with a knife and being on a hospital floor with help around, it is hard. Furthermore, skin and the windpipe is made of tough 'fabric' and trying to punch a ball-point pen through is laughable. Try doing it yourself on a chicken with the skin on."

Well... it got me thinking... Let's assume for argument's sake that it IS possible to perform a cricothyroidotomy by literally punching through with a stiff ball-point pen into the airway. Would it actually work???

Believe it or not, there are two studies (listed below) I was able to find that tried to answer that very question. Contrary to popular belief... even IF a ball-point pen is able to secure an airway, the majority were found to be unsuitable due to inadequate internal diameter with too high an airway resistance for breathing.

In fact, the only TWO pens that might work (from a breathing standpoint) are the:

Baron retractable ballpoint

BIC soft feel Jumbo

I can't even find these items on Amazon.com.

A sports bottle straw apparently works better than a pen.

Reference:
Bystander cricothyroidotomy performed with an improvised airway. Mil Med. 2002 Jan;167(1):76-8.

Airflow efficacy of ballpoint pen tubes: a consideration for use in bystander cricothyrotomy. Emerg Med J. 2010 Apr;27(4):317-20.

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Man Chokes to Death During Air Flight... Preventable?

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

News media reported on Sept 5, 2011 about Robert Rippingale who choked to death during a flight from Singapore to New Zealand. He was with his girlfriend who noted he was shaking and turning blue after eating an in-flight meal. A doctor and two nurses attempted to save him though unsuccessfully.

The article reports that CPR was performed to try and save the man, but the obvious question is whether a Heimlich maneuver was done. Obviously, as long as an obstruction is present, doing CPR is bound to fail.

Assuming a Heimlich maneuver was performed and failed to remove the airway obstruction... what could have been done to save this man's life?

Let's assume best case scenario of having an experienced ENT surgeon was on board.

The surgeon could try to relieve the obstruction manually by looking down the throat using a laryngoscope and using instruments to remove the food obstruction from the airway.

If that fails, an emergency cricothyroidotomy would have saved this man's life. This emergency life-saving procedure is in essence making a hole in the neck directly into the airway. It is slightly different from a tracheostomy in terms of where anatomically this hole is made, but the end-result is the same.

Question is, EVEN if you had an experienced ENT on board, would an airplane even have a laryngoscope as well as instruments to remove a food impaction? Would an emergency cricothyroidotomy even be possible due to prohibition of sharp objects in airplanes? After all, you still need a knife of some sort to make the incision and to dissect down to the airway. Without a sharp instrument, this step would be impossible even if you have someone who knows what to do.

According to Appendix A to Part 121 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR 121), the specific requirements for US carriers regarding first aid and emergency aid kits are as follows:

For 0-50 seats, one kit is required; 51-150 seats, two kits are required; 151-250 seats require three; and more than 250 seats require 4 kits.

These kits must include, at a minimum:

• 16 Adhesive bandage compresses, 1-inch
• 20 Antiseptic swabs
• 10 Ammonia inhalants
• 8 Bandage compresses, 4-inch
• 5 Triangular bandage compresses, 40-inch
• 1 Arm splint, noninflatable
• 1 Leg splint, noninflatable
• 4 Roller bandage, 4-inch
• 2 Adhesive tape, 1-inch standard roll
• 1 Bandage scissors

Also, at least one approved medical kit must be on board that includes at a minimum:

• 1 Sphygmonanometer
• 1 Stethoscope
• 3 Airways, oropharyngeal (3 sizes): 1 pediatric, 1 small adult, 1 large adult or equivalent.
• Self-inflating manual resuscitation device with 3 masks (1 pediatric, 1 small adult, 1 large adult or equivalent).
• CPR mask (3 sizes), 1 pediatric, 1 small adult, 1 large adult, or equivalent.
• 1 IV Admin Set: Tubing w/ 2 Y connectors
• 2 Alcohol sponges
• 1 Adhesive tape, 1-inch standard roll adhesive.
• 1 pair Tape scissors
• 1 Tourniquet
• 1 Saline solution, 500 cc
• 1 pair Protective nonpermeable gloves or equivalent
• 6 Needles (2-18 ga., 2-20 ga., 2-22 ga., or sizes necessary to administer required medications).
• 4 Syringes (1-5 cc, 2-10 cc, or sizes necessary to administer required medications).
• 4 Analgesic, non-narcotic, tablets, 325 mg
• 4 Antihistamine tablets, 25 mg
• 2 Antihistamine injectable, 50 mg, (single dose ampule or equivalent).
• 2 Atropine, 0.5 mg, 5 cc (single dose ampule or equivalent).
• 4 Aspirin tablets, 325 mg
• 1 Bronchodilator, inhaled (metered dose inhaler or equivalent).
• 1 Dextrose, 50%/50 cc injectable, (single dose ampule or equivalent).
• 2 Epinephrine 1:1000, 1 cc, injectable, (single dose ampule or equivalent).
• 2 Epinephrine 1:10,000, 2 cc, injectable, (single dose ampule or equivalent).
• 2 Lidocaine, 5 cc, 20 mg/ml, injectable (single dose ampule or equivalent).
• 10 Nitroglycerin tablets, 0.4 mg
• 1 Basic instructions for use of the drugs in the kit.

It seems that there are airways of different sizes available, but no laryngoscope or other instruments to remove airway foreign objects.

Nowhere is a scalpel or knife listed either. You have needles and syringes which theoretically can be used to "poke" into the airway. However, though an 18 gauge needle might work for a chipmunk's airway, it is not sufficient for a full-grown man. It would be like breathing through a straw, but 50 times smaller and even more difficult to breath thru.

So it appears that in the event of an airway obstruction during an air-flight for which Heimlich fails, you can have the world's best surgeon present, and the man still would have died.

Some surgeons would argue a strong, stiff ball-point pen could have been used to perform the cricothyroidotomy, but as someone who has performed a dozen emergency cricothyroidotomies and tracheotomies in the past, even under the best of circumstances with a knife and being on a hospital floor with help around, it is hard. Furthermore, skin and the windpipe is made of tough "fabric" and trying to punch a ball-point pen through is laughable. Try doing it yourself on a chicken with the skin on.

Read the news article here.

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R&B Singer R. Kelly Undergoes Peritonsillar Abscess Drainage

Reuters on July 20, 2011 reported that R&B singer R. Kelly suffered from a peritonsillar abscess that required emergency drainage.

Peritonsillar abscess is when a pus collection develops within the tonsil causing it to swell. This may occur over a period of 24 hours resulting in a severe sore throat and trouble swallowing. This condition is in contrast to tonsillitis which is when the tonsil itself is infected, but no pus collection is present.

On exam, the affected tonsil may be huge crossing the midline (see picture). The uvula often is pushed to the opposite side and the soft palate may be asymmetrically huge as well.

Treatment is immediate incision and drainage. In an adult, this can be easily performed in the clinic after adequate local anesthesia. The pus is allowed to drain out and the patient often feels much improved within 12 hours. Antibiotics and a short burst of steroids is often prescribed afterwards.

Read the story here.

Read more about peritonsillar abscess management here.

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How To Persuade a Specialist to see a Patient Quickly!

With the advent of SmartPhones like the iPhone, communication between not only physicians but also patient-physician has become much easier.

To illustrate how such technology has eased communication in order for a patient to be seen quickly by a specialist was recently demonstrated when I received a phone call at home around 9:30PM from the Emergency Room regarding a facial fracture.

ER: Dr. Chang, we have a patient here who seems to have a facial fracture on CT. Overall, however, he does not appear to be in extreme discomfort and there does not appear to be any functional deficits.
Dr. Chang: Tell me about the fractures.
ER: It's a left zygomatic fracture. However, he is able to open and close the mouth as well as swallow without difficulty, so it's not emergent, but probably needs followup.
Dr. Chang: OK. What's his name? Tell him to come to my office in the morning at 9AM.
ER: Sounds great. Will let him know. His name is "John Doe" (not the patient's real name).

I than went to my home computer and loaded up his CT images to evaluate the so-called fracture. Often-times, most facial fractures do not require any intervention. However, some facial fractures, if severe enough, do require repair.

I loaded up the CT images and saw this (floating left zygomatic fracture):


Hmmmm. DOES need surgical intervention, but not something I can handle and this patient will need to see a specialist in facial fracture repair down at a tertiary care center like University of Virginia Medical Center. So, I take out my iPhone and take a picture of this relevant key image and email it to the facial plastic surgeon at UVA to arrange for an appointment (of note, no patient identifiers are included with the image to abide by HIPAA regulations).


Within a few hours, I get a reply back from the UVA plastic surgeon that this patient definitely needs surgical repair and that he would be able to see him the next day afternoon with surgery time blocked off for repair 3 days later.

The moral of the story is that technology is now good enough that given all information provided including radiological images (a picture is worth a thousand words), amazing things can happen, like get a patient seen in less than 24 hours by a sub-specialist who normally is unable to see new patients for 6-8 weeks. Without this image, it may have taken more effort and surgery may have been delayed by a week or two.

Patients can also do this if they are able to email their physician. It's not enough to provide only textual information which may not provide a compelling enough story... Include relevant images!!! Of course, you may need the help of a health professional to guide which images are most important.

It's worth repeating again...

Include relevant images!!!

The extreme importance of images is also why I ALWAYS want to see the CT scan images of any patients who comes in for an appointment and why patients should ALWAYS bring a copy of their CT scan burned onto a CD before seeing their ENT. A report is NOT good enough.

HOWEVER, the very importance of an image to a surgeon can be a double-edged sword as the image you send may PROVE that there's nothing significant going on to the point that a specialist may say that scheduling an appointment would not be worthwhile.

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