Background: Prehospital surgical cricothyrotomies and complications from placement are an important and under-evaluated topic for both the military and civilian prehospital populations. This study uses the Department of Defense Trauma Registry to identify complications and the incidence of complications in prehospital combat surgical cricothyrotomies.
Methods: A secondary analysis of previously described prehospital-based dataset from the Department of Defense Trauma Registry (DODTR) was performed. Casualties who had a prehospital cricothyrotomy performed were isolated and assessed for documented airway injuries and surgical procedures after hospital admission.
Results: There were 25,8976 casualties in the original dataset, of which 251 met inclusion for this analysis. The median age was 25 and most (98%) were male. Explosives were most frequent (55%) followed by firearm (33%) mechanisms. Most were host nation partner forces (35%) and humanitarian (32%) casualties. The median injury severity score was 24. The most frequent seriously injured body region was the head/neck (61%). Most (61%) were discharged alive. Within the 251, 14% had a complication noted, most commonly requiring tracheostomy revision (5%).
Conclusions: Cricothyrotomies are rarely performed, but when they are performed and the casualty survives long enough to reach a military treatment facility with surgical capabilities, the incidence of near-term and long-term complications is high. A better understanding of outcomes associated with this procedure will enable more targeted training and technology development.
Keywords: airway; battlefield; combat; cricothyrotomy; injury; pattern; prehospital.