The application of percutaneous transtracheal jet ventilation for emergency ventilation depends on special equipment which is often not available outside the operating room. The oxygen flow modulator is a new specially designed device for emergency ventilation using a low pressure oxygen supply. We studied the effects of the new device in comparison with a hand triggered emergency jet injector on oxygenation and ventilation in six pigs (21+/-1 kg). The animals were anaesthetized, tracheally intubated, and mechanically ventilated. Following central venous and pulmonary artery catheterization, a Paratrend 7 sensor was placed in the left femoral artery for continuous measurements of PaO(2) and PaCO(2). Then an emergency transtracheal airway catheter was inserted into the trachea after surgical exposure. In randomized order each animal was ventilated via the transtracheal airway catheter with the hand triggered emergency jet injector (inspiratory/expiratory (I/E) ratio of 1:1; respiratory rate of 60 min(-1); driving pressure 1.5 bar; FjetO(2) 1.0) and the oxygen flow modulator (FiO(2) 1.0 at an oxygen flow of 15 l min(-1); respiratory rate of 60 min(-1); I/E ratio of approximately 1:1) for 15 min each. After each phase of the experiment respiratory and hemodynamic variables were measured. Whereas PaO(2) was not significantly different between the two devices, PaCO(2) was higher during the hand-triggered jet ventilation. Thus, the efficacy of the oxygen flow modulator during the experiment was comparable with the efficacy of the hand triggered emergency jet injector.