J Emerg Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The sensitivity and specificity of transcricothyroid ultrasonography to confirm endotracheal tube placement in a cadaver model.
Confirmation of endotracheal (ET) tube placement is critical when performing emergency airway management. No single confirmation strategy has emerged as ideal in all circumstances. Our objective in this study was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of a novel approach to verify endotracheal intubation using transcricothyroid ultrasonography (US). ⋯ Static assessment resulted in only 51% sensitivity and 91% specificity. This pilot study suggests that dynamic transcricothyroid US is a potentially accurate method of confirming ET placement during the intubation process. Further investigation in live humans is warranted to validate these data.