Howard County Paramedics Use 'Glidescope' To Save More Lives

There is little margin for error when it comes to saving lives. A piece of equipment now used by paramedics with the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue is making a crucial procedure easier.

Every year, between 100 and 150 county residents – patients who are in cardiac arrest or who have respiratory distress – have breathing tubes placed in their windpipe.

Now, when paramedics place these breathing tubes in, they have the help of a Glidescope. The device uses a video camera to sends what it sees to a nearby screen. The paramedic is then able to view the airway as the tube goes down into the windpipe.

With the technology assisting them, paramedics are more successful getting the breathing tube in on the first attempt, according to fire and rescue officials.

“In an emergency, if responders find someone who is having trouble breathing or needs their passageway cleared, it eliminates much of the guesswork,” said Jackie Cutler, a department spokeswoman.

The department has Glidescopes in 17 ambulances. Each one cost a little more than $11,000, but the county only paid for six of those, according to Cutler. The remaining 11 were funded by grants, she said.

“This is about patient safety,” Dr. Kevin Seaman, medical director for the department of fire and rescue, said in a statement. “One of our goals is to demonstrate that the Glidescope is an essential tool that needs to be available in ambulances across the country, rather than seen as a ‘nice-to-have’ item.”

The department’s emergency responders learned how to use the device through lectures at Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore and by practicing on mannequins there. They were also invited to the hospital’s operating room for additional training.

“It’s a game of seconds when a patient requires intubation, so success on the first attempt is critically important,” Dr. Kenneth Rothfield, an anesthesiologist at Saint Agnes Hospital, remarked. “We can train almost anyone on this device, and the learning curve is incredibly short compared to previously used techniques.”