Retrograde technique for tracheal intubation in trauma patients

Nineteen trauma patients with either maxillofacial trauma or cervical spine fracture were orotracheally intubated over a guidewire percutaneously inserted through the cricothyroid membrane into the mouth in a retrograde fashion. In 13 patients, conventional techniques failed (average number of attempts 6 +/- 1, mean duration 18 +/- 1 min); in six patients, the initial method of choice was a retrograde technique. In all patients, retrograde technique succeeded on only one attempt (duration less than 5 min in all cases). No serious complication could be related to this technique; it is an easy, safe, efficacious method for difficult tracheal intubation in trauma patients.