Airway management

Prehospital emergency cricothyroidotomy in Denmark: a nationwide cohort study, 2016–2023

ResuscitationPublished Nationwide registry-based observational cohort study

Authors' conclusion

Prehospital emergency cricothyroidotomy was an exceedingly rare procedure but demonstrated high procedural success in this nationwide physician-staffed Emergency Medical Services system. Survival among patients with OHCA was relatively low, reflecting the critical condition of patients requiring emergency cricothyroidotomy.

Study context

Population
All patients undergoing prehospital emergency cricothyroidotomy in Denmark, 2016–2023
Participants
71 validated cases
Exposure
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) vs no OHCA
  • OHCAn = 48
  • Without OHCAn = 23
Outcome
Procedural success

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

Overall procedural success
87.3%

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

Indications

Aspiration
32.4%
Oropharyngeal bleeding
33.8%
  • Most frequent indications

Outcomes in OHCA (n = 48)

ROSC
25.0%
30-day survival
4.5%
One-year survival
2.3%

Cricothyroidotomy among nationwide OHCA patients

48 of 39,885 OHCA patients
0.12%

Original publication

Prehospital emergency cricothyroidotomy in Denmark: a nationwide cohort study, 2016–2023. Resuscitation. Published 24 August 2026. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2026.111276

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