Emergency percutaneous transtracheal ventilation (PTV)

Ventilation through a percutaneous needle catheter inserted into the trachea has been advocated for resuscitation in acute upper airway obstruction. However, the customized, prefabricated equipment proposed by others for that use is not always available. We describe a device for percutaneous transtracheal ventilation (PTV) that can be rapidly assembled using available, inexpensive hospital supplies. With this device, moderate inflation pressures and flow rates of oxygen resulted in arterial PaO₂ of greater than 300 torr and PaCO₂ values of approximately 40 torr in dogs. PTV may be used as a life-saving measure in cases of acute upper airway obstruction when conventional airway management is unsuccessful.