Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T04:31:01.212Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

High tracheostomy and other errors – revisited

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

John D. C. Bennett*
Affiliation:
Department Military Surgery, Royal Army Medical College, Millbank, London, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Major J. D. C. Bennett, F.R.C.S., D.C.H., R.A.M.C., Department of Military Surgery, Royal Army Medical College, Millbank, London SW1P 4RJ.

Abstract

Timely cricothyrotomy may be life-saving, but it is not without its complications. Together with tracheostomy performed too high, there are high incidences of stenosis and voice changes afterwards – often neglected because the patient has so many other problems. Jackson warned of these problems over 70 years ago – his message is still relevant.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Presented at the Royal National Throat, Nose Ear Hospital, 4 March 1996.

References

Allbritten, F. F., Frederickson, E. K. (1956) Maintenance of respiratory function following injury. Surgical Clinics North America 36: 12211224.Google Scholar
Andrews, M. J., Pearson, F. G. (1971) Incidence and pathogenesis of tracheal injury following cuffed tracheostomy with assisted ventilation: an analysis of two years' prospective study. Annals of Surgery 173: 249263.Google Scholar
Balogh, D., Kompatscher, P., Hörtnagi, H., Bauer, M. (1987) Nachuntersuchungen bei Brandverletzen nach Langzeitbeatmung. Handchirurgie, Mikrochirurgie, Plastich Chirurgie 19: 273276.Google Scholar
Bennett, J. D. C, Guha, S. C, Sankar, A. B. (1996) Cricothyrotomy: the anatomical basis. Journal of Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh 41: 5760.Google Scholar
Bjoraker, D. G., Kumar, N. B., Brown, A. C. (1987) Evaluation of an emergency cricothyrotomy instrument. Critical Care Medicine 15: 157160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyle, M. F., Hatton, D., Sheets, C. (1993) Surgical cricothyrotomy performed by air ambulance flight nurses: a 5 year experience. Journal of Emergency Medicine 11: 4145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caparosa, R. J., Zavatsky, A. R. (1957) Practical aspects of the cricothyroid space. Laryngoscope 67: 577591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carden, E. T. (1981) Letter. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 67: 99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Criswell, J. C, Parr, M. J. A., Nolan, J. P. (1994) Emergency airway management in patients with cervical spine injuries. Anaesthesia 49: 900903.Google Scholar
Erlandson, M. J., Clinton, J. E., Ruiz, E., Cohen, J. (1989) Cricothyrotomy in the emergency department revisited. Journal of Emergency of Medicine 7: 115118.Google Scholar
Gleeson, M. J., Pearson, R. C, Armistead, S., Yates, A. K. (1984) Voice change following cricothyrotomy. Journal of Laryngology and Otology 98: 10151019.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, M. (1848) Description of an instrument for the performance of tracheotomy. Lancet 2: 283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iserson, K. V., Sanders, A. B., Kaback, K. (1985) Difficult intubations: aids and alternatives. American Family Physician 31: 99112.Google Scholar
Jackson, C. (1921) High tracheostomy and other errors: the chief cause of chronic laryngeal stenosis. Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics 32: 392398.Google Scholar
Johnson, D. R., Dunlap, A., McFeeley, P., Gaffney, J., Busick, W. (1993) Cricothyrotomy performed by prehospital personnel: a comparison of two techniques in a human cadaver model. American Journal of Emergency Medicine 11: 207209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd-Thomas, A. R., Anderson, I. (1996) Paediatric trauma. In ABC Of Major Trauma. 2nd Edition (Skinner, D., Driscoll, P., Earlamm, R., eds.) British Medical Association, London, pp 7382.Google Scholar
McGill, J., Clinton, J. E., Ruiz, E. (1992) Cricothyrotomy in the emergency department. Annals of Emergency Medicine 11: 361364.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, J., Iserson, K. V. (1986) Emergency pediatric tracheostomy: a usable technique and model for instruction. Annals of Emergency Medicine 15: 463465.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miklus, R. M., Elliot, C., Snow, N. (1989) Surgical cricothyrotomy in the field: experience of a helicopter transport team. Journal of Trauma 29: 506508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Milner, S. M., Bennett, J. D. C. (1991) Emergency cricothyrotomy. Journal of Laryngology and Otology 105: 883885.Google Scholar
Ooi, R., Fawcett, W. J., Soni, N., Riley, B. (1993) Extra inspiratory work of breathing imposed by cricothyrotomy devices. British Journal of Anaesthesia 70: 1721.Google Scholar
Operation Granby: Standing Operating Procedures And Casualty Treatment Regimes For Burns, 1990 Paragraph 2. Ministry of Defence, London.Google Scholar
Quiney, R. E., Gould, S. J. (1985) Subglottic stenosis: a clinicopathological study. Clinical Otolaryngology 10: 315327.Google Scholar
Reid, D. C., Henderson, R., Saboe, L., Miller, J. D. (1987) A etiology and clinical course of missed spine fractures. Journal of Trauma 27: 908986.Google Scholar
Rhee, K. J., Green, W., Holcroft, J. W., Mangili, J. A. (1990) Oral intubation in the multiply injured patient: the risk of exacerbating spinal cord damage. Annals of Emergency Medicine 19: 603604.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ritter, F. N. (1967) Subglottic stenosis following cricothyrotomy. Transactions of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otology 71: 792801.Google ScholarPubMed
Royster, H. P. (1956) Emergency care of the injured. Surgical Clinics of North America 36: 11811183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Safar, P. (1988) (ed.) Airway Control. 3rd Edition, W. B Saunders, London, pp 5960.Google Scholar
Slobodkin, D., Topliff, S., Raife, J. H. (1992) Retrograde intubation of the pharynx: an unusual complication of emergency cricothyrotomy. Annals of Emergency Medicine 21: 220222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spaite, D. W., Joseph, M. (1990) Prehospital cricothyrotomy: an investigation of indications, technique, complications, and patient outcomes. Annals of Emergency Medicine 19: 279285.Google Scholar
Tucker, H. M. (1993) The Larynx. 2nd Edition. Thieme, New York, p 15.Google Scholar