Prospective Evaluation of Foreign Body Airway Obstruction Interventions Among Adults and Children

NCT07365137 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: REB25-0419A
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO, choking) is a life-threatening emergency requiring time-sensitive treatment to prevent severe injury or deaths. Traditional treatments taught in first aid courses include abdominal thrusts, back blows, and chest compressions or thrusts. Currently, first aid guidelines recommend different treatments for adults, child and infants. Until recently, data on these techniques was limited to case series from the late 1900's. To further improve our knowledge of which treatment is most effective and safest for patients, this study will collect data on choking incidents in Alberta, Canada. The first phase of this project will make sure identifying and recruiting choking patients in real-time is possible so that the highest quality of data can be collected. If successful, this study will support a future project where the different choking treatments are compared in terms of their effectiveness and safety. This study will focus on adults and children over the age of 2 years.

Conditions

Foreign Body Airway Obstruction

Keywords

Choking; Prospective cohort study; Feasibility study; Adults and children

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Eligible patient recruitment

  Count of eligible patients recruited per month

  Through study completion, a 6 month period

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Proportion of eligible patients recruited

  Through study completion, a 6 month period

• Proportion of recruited patients with satisfactory data collection

  Through study completion, a 6 month period

• Foreign body airway obstruction relief

  Day 1

• Survival to acute care discharge

  From date of enrolment until the date of acute care discharge or date of death from any cause, whichever came first, assessed up to 3 month

• Survival to acute care discharge with favourable neurological outcome

  From date of enrolment until the date of acute care discharge or date of death from any cause, whichever came first, assessed up to 3 month

Study Arms (1)

Adults or children with FBAO

Adults or children (aged greater than 2 years) with a foreign body airway obstruction who are conscious when they receive their first intervention

Procedure: Abdominal thrust; Procedure: Back blows; Procedure: Chest compressions/thrusts

Interventions

Abdominal thrust PROCEDURE

Abdominal thrust received as first intervention

Adults or children with FBAO

Back blows PROCEDURE

Back blows received as first intervention

Adults or children with FBAO

Chest compressions/thrusts PROCEDURE

Chest compressions or thrusts received as first intervention

Adults or children with FBAO

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 3 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult or children (aged greater than 2 years) who experienced an out-of-hospital FBAO and received a FBAO intervention while conscious in Alberta, Canada, and, subsequently, were assessed by EMS or at an emergency department

You may qualify if:

• Adult or children (aged greater than 2 years) who experienced an out-of-hospital FBAO in Alberta, Canada
• Received a FBAO intervention while conscious by bystander or healthcare provider
• Were assessed by EMS at the time of the incident, or later attended an emergency department due to the incident

You may not qualify if:

• Patients with abnormal airway anatomy such as a tracheostomy.
• Patients who were unconscious when they received the initial FBAO intervention

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Calgary: lead

Study Sites (1)

Virtual

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Airway Obstruction

Interventions

Heimlich Maneuver

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Respiratory Insufficiency; Respiration Disorders; Respiratory Tract Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Emergency Treatment; Therapeutics

Study Officials

• Cody Dunne, MD

  University of Calgary

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Cody Dunne, MD

CONTACT

1-403-944-1818; cody.dunne@ucalgary.ca

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator, Emergency Physician

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 29, 2025
• First Posted: January 26, 2026
• Study Start: November 1, 2025
• Primary Completion: April 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Last Updated: January 26, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)