AIME Airway

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Recent evidence has shown that fibreoptic intubation is still an indispensable technique for safe management of predicted difficult airways, despite the implementation of new technologies such as videolaryngoscopy. It is therefore our obligation as anaesthesia societies and as practicing anaesthetists to offer this technique to our patients in clearly designated situations.

INTRODUCTION: Difficult laryngoscopy and intubation are serious problems among critically ill patients in emergency department (ED) so utility of a rapid, accurate and noninvasive method for predicting of these patients are necessary. Ultrasonography has been recently used in this regard and this study was conducted to investigate the correlation of some introduced upper airway ultrasound parameters with difficult laryngoscopy / difficult intubation in patients referred to the ED. METHOD: In this prospective observational study all patients ≥ 18-year-old who had an indication for rapid sequence intubation (RSI) were included...

The recently published INTUBE study subanalysis and DEVICE trial findings both demonstrate a clear benefit of videolaryngoscopy over direct laryngoscopy in facilitating tracheal intubation of patients in the emergency department and ICU. We consider the increasing evidence supporting the use of videolaryngoscopy, the possible reasons behind its relatively slow adoption into clinical practice, and the potential role of the hyperangulated videolaryngoscope blade. We discuss the significance of improved first-pass tracheal intubation success in reducing the overall risk of complications in critically ill patients...

Survival from in-hospital cardiac arrest is approximately 18%, but for patients who require advanced airway management survival is lower. Those who do survive are often left with significant disability. Traditionally, resuscitation of cardiac arrest patients has included tracheal intubation, however insertion of a supraglottic airway has gained popularity as an alternative approach to advanced airway management. Evidence from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest suggests no significant differences in mortality or morbidity between these two approaches, but there is no randomised evidence for airway management during in-hospital cardiac arrest...

Background and objective The primary responsibility of the anesthesiologist is to provide adequate oxygenation and ventilation to the patient by securing the airway. Prediction of Cormack-Lehane (CL) grading preoperatively helps patients' airway management during anesthesia induction, particularly in difficult intubations. Our study aims to evaluate airway assessment modalities using ultrasound and conventional clinical screening methods for predicting difficult laryngoscopy and intubation. Materials and methods This prospective observational study was conducted on 100 patients aged between 18 and 70 years belonging to ASA classes I, II, and III scheduled for elective surgery requiring general anesthesia under endotracheal intubation was included in the study...

Emergency airway management events are common, unpredictable and associated with high complication rates. This multicentre prospective observational study across eight acute NHS hospitals in southeast England reports the incidence and nature of non-theatre emergency airway management events. Data were collected from non-theatre emergency airway management, including adverse events, over a continuous 28-day window, and recorded on an electronic case report form. Events were classified according to type (advanced airway; simple airway; and cardiac arrest)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: An inter-incisor gap <3 cm is considered critical for videolaryngoscopy. It is unknown if new generation GlideScope Spectrum™ videolaryngoscopes with low-profile hyperangulated blades might facilitate safe tracheal intubation in these patients. This prospective pilot study aims to evaluate feasibility and safety of GlideScopeTM videolaryngoscopes in severely restricted mouth opening. METHODS: Feasibility study in 30 adults with inter-incisor gaps between 1...

OBJECTIVE: Laryngoscopy simulators quantifying forces on critical structures in progressively challenging airways and operator expertise are lacking. We aimed to quantify laryngoscopy forces across expertise and exposure difficulty. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective observational study Setting: Tertiary care medical center Methods: Force gauges were affixed to a difficult airway mannequin to quantify teeth and tongue forces across increasingly challenging airway exposure...

Awake fibreoptic intubation has been considered a gold standard in the management of the difficult airway. However, failure may cause critical situations. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and causes of failed awake fibreoptic intubation at a tertiary care hospital. The study was conducted at St. Olav University Hospital in Trondheim, Norway. Problems occurring during anaesthesia are routinely recorded in the electronic anaesthesia information system (Picis Clinical Solutions Inc.), including difficult intubations...

Airway management is a common procedure within Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. Traditional techniques for predicting and managing a difficult airway each have important limitations. As the field has evolved, point-of-care ultrasound has been increasingly utilized for this application. Several measures can be used to sonographically predict a difficult airway, including skin to epiglottis, hyomental distance, and tongue thickness. Ultrasound can also be used to confirm endotracheal tube intubation and assess endotracheal tube depth...

BACKGROUND: The appropriate management of a "difficult airway" remains a challenge for novices and experienced anaesthetists. With the current available airway technologies, e.g., video laryngoscopy, flexible bronchoscopy (fibreoptic intubation (FOI)) for endotracheal intubation is decreasing, likely diminishing caregiver skills. We investigated whether bronchoscopy simulator training improved FOI skills. METHODS: 72 volunteers, consisting of anaesthetists, anaesthesia residents, and nurses, performed six exercises on a bronchoscopy simulator...

We describe a series of 11 cases in which we used the new flexible tip (FlexTip) bougie as a rescue device following first-attempt failure at intubation with the C-MAC D-Blade video laryngoscope in our UCI. We collected data from all intubations performed using the C-MAC D-Blade video laryngoscope over a 16-month period. Ninety six patients were included in the study: 79 (86.8%) were intubated at the first attempt; 11 (12.1%) required 2 attempts; and 1 patient required 3 attempts. The Frova Intubating Introducer was used in 1 of the 12 patients requiring more than 1 intubation attempt, and the FlexTip was used in the remaining 11...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Intrahospital transport is associated with adverse events. This challenge is amplified during airway management. Although difficult airway response teams have been described, little attention has been paid to patient transport during difficult airway management versus the alternative of managing patient airways without moving the patient. This is especially needed in a 22-floor vertical hospital. HYPOTHESIS: Development of a rapid difficult airway response team and an associated difficult airway cart will allow for the ability to manage difficult airways in the patient's primary location...

BACKGROUND: Facilitated intubation (FI) refers to intubation performed using a sedative or anesthetic drug as an induction agent, without the use of a paralytic (neuromuscular blocking agent). In comparison, rapid sequence intubation (RSI) employs both an induction agent and a paralytic drug. RSI has been seen to outperform FI in terms of first-pass success when performing direct laryngoscopy and was quickly adopted as the gold standard in all situations. Recently, ketamine-only intubation has been used in situations where there is distorted anatomy or apnea intolerance (physically and physiologically difficult airways) resulting in an increased risk of a can't intubate/can't oxygenate scenario or significant hypoxemia...

RATIONALE: Controversies and practice variations exist related to the pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic management of the airway during rapid sequence intubation (RSI). OBJECTIVES: To develop evidence-based recommendations on pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic topics related to RSI. DESIGN: A guideline panel of 20 Society of Critical Care Medicine members with experience with RSI and emergency airway management met virtually at least monthly from the panel's inception in 2018 through 2020 and face-to-face at the 2020 Critical Care Congress...

BACKGROUND: Hemorrhage control surgery is an essential trauma center function. Airway management of the unstable bleeding patient in the emergency department (ED) presents a challenge. Premature intubation in the ED can exacerbate shock and precipitate extremis. We hypothesized that ED versus operating room intubation of patients requiring urgent hemorrhage control surgery is associated with adverse outcomes at the patient and hospital-levels. METHODS: Patients who underwent hemorrhage control within 60 minutes of arrival at level 1 or 2 trauma centers were identified (National Trauma Data Bank 2017-2019)...