Putting the Pit Crew Approach Into Practice

Typically, cardiac arrest survivors are not professional presenters, so we created some slides to help tell Dan’s story. I took pictures of his street, his house and the room where he collapsed, and to fill in the gaps I interviewed everyone involved. Using the backdrop of their own home not only helped Dan and Sue present, but helped their audience understand what they would have done had this been their call. (Keep in mind that a cardiac arrest survivor cannot tell an audience much about their actual event, as they were, quite literally, dead.) We discovered it’s essential to include a close family member as an event historian.

Why We Chose the King LT

We have our first-responding EMTs insert the King LT rather than waiting for paramedics to intubate. Studies have shown the two airways are equally effective in cardiac arrest management, and the King LT can be inserted more rapidly and with a higher success rate.

An endotracheal tube is not the ideal initial airway for a cardiac arrest patient. The data shows CPR will be affected more often when trying to intubate. The King LT removes that from the equation and introduces ventilation with measurable CO₂, which is crucial for cardiac arrest management. After providers achieve ROSC, we prefer they change out the blind-insertion device with an ET tube for better airway management.

David Glendenning, EMT-P, is education coordinator for New Hanover Regional EMS in Wilmington, NC. He has been in EMS for over 18 years and is currently leading an effort to train 200,000 individuals in hands-only CPR. Contact him at david.glendenning@nhrmc.org.