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 Researchers had 10 people try to push ballpoint pens through the
necks of fresh cadavers to create a passage to the airway. While all
participants were able to break the skin, only one person was able
to get to the airway.
The results show that people shouldn't try something just because
they read it or see it in the media, said Dr. Michael Kamali, chair
of emergency medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center
in New York.
"We haven’t had anyone come into our department who tried to do this
with a ballpoint pen, and I hope we don’t," said Kamali, who wasn't
involved in the new study. "I don’t think the outcome would be too
good."
The procedure, formally known as a cricothyroidotomy, is used in
emergency situations to establish airflow when more traditional
methods won't work due to trauma, inflammation or another blockage.
But emergency personnel use scalpels and tubes, not pens.
While ballpoint pens are recommended by some medical textbooks as
emergency breathing tubes, there was conflicting evidence on whether
it would actually work, the researchers write in the Emergency
Medical Journal, April 19.
For the study, Dr. Ulrich Kisser of Ludwig-Maximilian-University of
Munich and colleagues tested three different types of ballpoint pens
to see if they could be used as breathing tubes. Two pens made the
cut, so to speak.
Next they had 10 people from different walks of life - lawyers,
police officers and students - attempt to use the pens to perform a
cricothyroidotomy on the bodies of 10 people who had died within the
past two days.
Six of the participants punctured the neck too low and stabbed the
thyroid gland. Three of the participants punctured the neck at the
right spot.
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Only one person was able to break the skin, ligaments and airway
wall to establish airflow. For that person, it took more than 5
minutes, three attempts and "a lot of patience" and force. The
person also caused damage to the neck and airway.
"A cricothyroidotomy just with a ballpoint pen is virtually
impossible," write the researchers. But they note that a dismantled
ballpoint pen may be used as a breathing tube if another sharp tool
is first used to cut through to the airway.
Kamali said people should always call 911 first if someone is having
difficulty breathing.
"Trying to perform this without any medical type of experience would
potentially lead to consequences and failure," he said. "It’s
something I would not recommended people take on."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/21hOs9F
Emerg Med J 2016.
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