Page 39 - ATP-P 11th Ed

Airway Management
Background
Airway compromise is the second leading cause of potentially survivable death on the SECTION 1
battlefield after hemorrhage. Complete airway occlusion can cause death from suffoca-
6
tion within minutes. Austere environments present significant challenges with airway
management. Limited provider experience and skill, equipment, resources, and medica-
tions shape the best management techniques. Considerations include limited availability
of supplemental oxygen; medications for induction/rapid sequence intubation, paralysis,
and post-intubation management; and limitations in available equipment. Another reality
is limitations in sustainment training options, especially for advanced airway techniques.
Due to these challenges, some common recommendations that may be considered “rescue”
techniques in standard hospital airway management may be recommended earlier or in a
non-standard fashion to establish and control an airway in a PCC environment. Patients
who require advanced airway placement tend to undergo more interventions, be more criti-
cally injured, and ultimately have a higher proportion of deaths. The ability to rapidly and
consistently manage an airway when indicated or spend time on other resuscitative needs
when airway management is not indicated, may contribute to improved outcomes. 7,8

28 SECTION 1 TACTICAL TRAUMA PROTOCOLS (TTPs) ATP-P Handbook 11th Edition 29