This note was sent to me recently regarding this issue and I can PM the details if you are interested. This is strictly dealing with 68W/18D's deployed so no experience in the EMT environment or their equipment.
Quote:
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE
We have been looking at how to make airway treatment for combat casualties
better, and have found two items that prevent successful surgical airway
applications. The first is the medic does not know the anatomical landmarks to
make the initial surgical incision. They are either too high on the neck or
too low. Most manikins we practice on have exaggerated landmarks and when a
medic has to actually find the landmarks on a real person it is much harder.
The second problem is most surgical cric sets use an endotracheal tube which
is cut down or intact. These tubes are six inches or more in length and when
the excited medic tries to insert it they have a tendency to put it in way to
far.
So to help prevent these problems we have started having the student practice
finding the landmarks on their classmates and drawing a line on their neck
where they would make the incision. We can eliminate the problem with a tube
that is too long by not giving them a long one. Your tube is the perfect
length to get the air in but not long enough to create problems.
Thanks again for your help
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