Noninvasive Airway Management for Critical and Life Threatening Illnesses

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

Annually, Chesterfield County Fire and Emergency Medical Services (CFEMS) responds to over 24,000 calls for service. The department is made of a mix of basic life support and advanced life support providers. All providers are provided initial and continuing education. The types of EMS calls received into the 911 center are typical in nature for a count of its size. As with most Emergency Medical Services agencies, approximately 8 to 10% of the calls are related to shortness of breath. The research in prehospital airway management indicates that many EMS patients who undergo invasive procedures have a higher morbidity and mortality rate. In addition, some of the interventions contribute to significant elevations in health care costs to the patient. Beginning in 2005, Chesterfield’s Fire and EMS started to change its philosophy on airway management. The department switched to a supraglottic device called king LTD, for certain call types with excellent results. The department also developed a strategy of aggressively preventing invasive airway management through the use of continuous positive airway pressure devices. Between the two changes, the number of patients who require intubation is markedly decreased. Based on CPAP use alone, there is an expected health care savings between $650,000 and $1,490,000 annually. In 2008, it was estimated that 32 lives were saved due to the project.