Impact of Succinct Training on Open Cricothyrotomy Performance: A Randomized, Prospective, Observational Study of U.S. Army First Responders

Introduction Primary airway failure has become the second most common cause of potentially survivable battlefield fatality. Cricothyrotomy is taught to all U.S. military providers as a means of securing an airway in extremis. However, retrospective studies show that cricothyrotomy failure rates for U.S. military first responders performing the procedure in combat is 33%. Our hypothesis was that these rates could be improved. Materials and Methods We conducted a randomized, prospective, observational study to evaluate the effects of inexpensive, succinct training on open cricothyrotomy performance by studying two unique U.S. Army First Responder participant groups. One participant group consisted of regular U.S. Army Medics (68 Ws). The second group was Special Operations Combat Medics. We evaluated both groups’ baseline ability to correctly perform a cricothyrotomy and then randomly assigned individuals within each group to either a training or practice group. Results The training group had a higher proportion of success and performed the cricothyrotomy faster than the practice group with 68 Ws group appearing to benefit most from training: their procedural success rates increased by an average of 23%, and their average time-to-correct-placement decreased by 21 seconds—a 33% improvement over baseline. Conclusion With one manikin, a qualified trainer, and $35 worth of expendable supplies, 10 medics could be trained in the procedure in just 2–3 hours. Our study suggests that this simple intervention has the potential to significantly improve U.S. Army First Responders’ ability to correctly perform an open cricothyrotomy and drastically decrease the time needed to perform this lifesaving procedure correctly, possibly saving one in four potentially survivable combat casualties suffering from airway compromise.