Critical Events in Anaesthetised Kids Undergoing Tracheal Intubation (CRICKET)—study protocol for an international multicentre prospective observational study

TL;DR

The CRICKET study is tracking critical events during tracheal intubation in children across multiple international centers to better understand their incidence and management.

Contribution

This is the first large-scale international multicenter study to systematically observe critical events during pediatric tracheal intubation.

Findings

CRICKET aims to include 105,000 patients to assess the incidence of critical events during tracheal intubation in children.

As of May 2025, around 25,000 patients had been enrolled, with plans to reach 50,000 by the end of 2025.

The study collects detailed data on patient characteristics and airway management techniques.

Abstract

Critical Events in Anaesthetised Kids undergoing Tracheal Intubation (CRICKET) is a prospective, international multicentre observational study with the objective of capturing, assessing, and analysing critical events associated with tracheal intubation in children.

CRICKET involves paediatric patients aged 0–16 yr, requiring tracheal intubation, performed by the anaesthesia team for procedures or interventions requiring general anaesthesia, either planned or unplanned. Patient characteristics and airway management techniques are recorded using a dedicated electronic case report form. If one or more critical events associated with airway management occur, a second, more detailed questionnaire will be completed for the follow-up until the patient is discharged or up to a maximum of 30 days. We aim to include 105 000 patients from participating centres disseminated worldwide. Every participating centre collects data over a consecutive observational period of 3 months. The primary outcome is the incidence of critical events associated with tracheal intubation in children.

The CRICKET study started in January 2024 and is currently ongoing. By May 2025, around 25 000 patients were entered into the database, with an estimated 50 000 patients by the end of 2025. Because of the observational nature of the study and the extensive international involvement and effort, continuing the study or analysing the existing data will depend on available resources and exact incidence of critical events.

This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente 2025).

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT 05804188).

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