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Cricothyrotomy kits based on the Seldinger technique are employed widely because they are relatively easy to learn and use and are associated with fewer complications and failures than trochar-based techniques. Researchers in Austria compared the new Portex cricothyrotomy kit, which requires insertion of a tube-over-trochar device through a surgical incision, with the Melker cricothyrotomy kit, which uses the Seldinger technique (Journal Watch Emergency Medicine Mar 30 2005).
Forty cadavers were assigned randomly to one of the two techniques. For each cadaver, one of two anesthesiologists trained in both techniques performed cricothyrotomy, while a third anesthesiologist viewed the airway internally through a fiber-optic bronchoscope. After …