Class II Suction Anti-Choking Device — Second-Line Treatment
In March 2026, the U.S. FDA granted LifeVac De Novo authorization as a Class II suction anti-choking device for second-line treatment. LifeVac is intended for complete airway obstruction when current choking protocols have been followed without success, for adults and children at least 1 year of age.
View FDA Authorization
Journal of Emergency Nursing
Systematic review and meta-analysis comparing anti-choking suction devices with traditional choking rescue techniques.
Included 6 studies and 789 participants/cases.
Reported a 97.79% pooled airway-clearance success estimate for LifeVac.
Resuscitation Plus
Two-year prospective evaluation of airway clearance devices used during foreign body airway obstruction emergencies.
Included 157 LifeVac cases.
LifeVac was the last intervention before obstruction relief in 151 cases.
150 patients survived to hospital discharge.
Research included investigators affiliated with the University of Calgary.
Frontiers in Medicine
Evaluated LifeVac use during choking emergencies involving patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia.
Included 39 real-world choking cases.
38 successful resuscitations were reported.
Provides evidence relating specifically to a population at increased risk of choking.
Journal of Emergency Nursing
Randomized simulation study involving 132 laypersons after standardized training.
Obstruction relief within one minute was:
LifeVac — 86%
DeChoker — 62%
Abdominal thrusts — 49%
Researchers evaluated effectiveness following brief standardized training.
BMC Medical Education
Evaluated whether health-science students could correctly and quickly use anti-choking devices without previous device-specific training.
Included 43 participants.
Median overall scenario time:
LifeVac — 36.6 seconds
DeChoker — 50.4 seconds
The study focused primarily on device usability and speed of application.
2022 Global Retrospective Evaluation
Phase one of a global evaluation of suction-based airway clearance devices.
Evaluated reported real-world choking emergencies.
Included 124 LifeVac interventions.
Resolution of choking symptoms was reported in 123 cases.
Resuscitation Plus
Randomized crossover study evaluating suction-based airway clearance devices.
Used a manikin foreign-body airway obstruction model.
Assessed both efficacy and usability.
Helped establish early comparative evidence relating to suction-based choking rescue devices.
Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine
Descriptive retrospective study of 1,062 LifeVac cases across 16 countries.
Meat was the most common foreign body removed (16.8%).
LifeVac successfully removed the airway obstruction in all cases included in the analyzed dataset.
2017 ACEP Research Forum / Annals of Emergency Medicine — Adolescent Simulator Model Abstract
Successful resuscitation of choking victims using a LifeVac.
Non-powered portable suction device real-world experience.
2015 American Journal of Gastroenterology — AJG Abstract Submission
Novel use of a portable, non-powered suction-generating device for management of life-threatening aerodigestive tract foreign bodies.
Peer-reviewed article on successful use of LifeVac to clear airway obstructions.
Presents worldwide real-world results.
Novel use of a portable, non-powered suction-generating device for management of life-threatening aerodigestive tract foreign bodies.
Portable, non-powered, suction-generating device for management of life-threatening aerodigestive tract foreign bodies.
Novel prototype and literature review.
Resuscitation of choking victims in a pediatric population using a novel portable non-powered suction device.
Real-world pediatric data.
