Teaching ultrasonographic identification of the cricothyroid membrane (CTM): a prospective cross-over cohort study

Accurate identification of the cricothyroid membrane is a crucial skill in acute care medicine, as it determines the success of potentially lifesaving cricothyroidotomy. However, palpation of the cricothyroid membrane (CTM) has been shown to be unreliable, even under elective conditions.

Airway ultrasound has been shown to:

There are 2 widely accepted techniques in ultrasound-guided identification of the CTM

There is lack of structured teaching in airway ultrasound to anaesthesia trainees in Singapore, hence we set out to evaluate the impact of a one-day training programme on improving the proficiency of airway ultrasound identification of CTM amongst trainees