ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION An entrapment situation represents a wide spectrum of different problems to the rescuer. Immediate access to the patient may not be available, and difficult, urgent medical interventions sometimes have to be done in confined spaces under much less than optimal conditions. Time, or rather time to definitive care, is a crucial factor that influences survival and the risk for development of sequel and multiple organ dysfunction [1-3]. Death from trauma follows a trimodial fashion [4,5] (Fig. 1) in which the majority occurs within the prehospital period. Immediate deaths are mainly due to exsanguinations and severe CNS trauma, and are inevitable and unavoidable. The second peak, however, occurs within the following hours and is mainly due to prolonged exsanguinations and respiratory impairment [4,6]. More than half of the patients have an impaired airway, and as much as nearly 70% of the trauma victims have been reported to require intubation in the prehospital phase [7].
