Airway intubation

Background and Aims: The palatal defect and abnormal dentition in cleft palate make mask ventilation and laryngoscopy difficult. This study aimed to assess the effect of feeding obturator on laryngeal view in unilateral complete cleft palate. Methods: Ninety non-syndromic infants scheduled for the first stage correction of complete unilateral cleft palate were randomised to Group A (no feeding obturator) or Group B (obturator used for induction and intubation). The primary objective was to assess effect of the feeding obturator on the Cormack-Lehane grade on laryngoscopy...

Background and Aims: Fibre-optic intubation (FOI) through supraglottic airway devices (SADs) is useful in the management of the difficult airway. We compared two methods of FOI through seven SADs in a randomised crossover manikin study to assess each device's performance and discuss implications on SAD selection. Methods: Thirty anaesthetsiologists, 15 seniors and 15 juniors, each performed low skill FOI (LSFOI) with seven SADs using both 'direct' and 'indirect' methods...

Background and Aims: The sniffing position has been most commonly used for positioning of the head and neck to facilitate tracheal intubation. However, the optimum degree of head elevation for the optimal laryngeal view is not well studied, especially in non-Western countries. The present study was aimed to compare the use of a fixed height pillow versus a customised pillow (CP) height for head elevation, in terms of glottis visualisation and time required for tracheal intubation. Methods: With research and ethics committee approval from the institute, this randomised study was conducted among patients of both sexes aged 16 years or more and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical Status I to IV...

In part 1 of this review of management of the airway in maxillofacial surgery we discuss preoperative assessment of the airway, and the practical means to deal with difficulties. We review the evidence for videolaryngoscopy and flexible indirect laryngoscopy, together with surgical access to the airway including tracheostomy, cricothyroidotomy, and submental intubation.

Critical care airway management is associated with a variety of complications, including severe oxygen desaturation, life-threatening hypotension, and death. This article reviews aspects of airway management that are relevant to intensivists and emergency medicine clinicians tasked with improving the quality of urgent endotracheal intubation in the critically ill patient.

There is a lack of data describing the role of flexible bronchoscopy (FB) in evaluating pulmonary diseases in children with congenital cardiovascular abnormalities in China. Determining whether those children suffer from respiratory complications may be useful for future preoperative planning and family counseling. The present study aimed to investigate the features and FB-associated findings with respect to pulmonary diseases in children with congenital cardiovascular abnormalities. The role of FB in guiding the treatment and safety of procedures was also evaluated...

BACKGROUND: Many patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs) undergo endotracheal intubation with subsequent mechanical ventilation (MV) for "airway protection" with the intent to prevent aspiration, pneumonias, and its related mortality. Conversely, these procedures may independently promote pneumonia, laryngeal trauma, dysphagia, and adversely affect patient outcomes. The net benefit of intubation and MV in this patient cohort has not been systematically investigated...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The C-MAC laryngoscope (C-MAC) is a videolaryngoscope that uses a modified Macintosh blade. Although several anecdotal reports exist, it remains unclear whether the C-MAC is superior to the Macintosh laryngoscope for tracheal intubation in the adult population. DESIGN: Systematic review, meta-analysis. SETTING: Operating room, intensive care unit. MEASUREMENTS: For inclusion in our analysis, studies had to be prospective randomised trials which compared the C-MAC with the Macintosh laryngoscope for tracheal intubation in the adult population...

We present an approach to airway management in a patient with machete injuries culminating in near-complete cricotracheal transection, in addition to a gunshot wound to the neck. Initial airway was established by direct intubation through the cricotracheal wound. Once the airway was secured, a bronchoscopy-guided orotracheal intubation was performed with simultaneous retraction of the cricotracheal airway to optimize the surgical field. This case offers insight into a rarely performed approach to airway management...

INTRODUCTION: Cricothyrotomy may be necessary for airway management when a patient's airway cannot be maintained through standard techniques such as oral airway placement, blind insertion airway device, or endotracheal intubation. Wire-guided cricothyrotomy is one of many techniques used to perform a cricothyrotomy. Although there is some controversy over which cricothyrotomy technique is superior, there is no published data regarding long term retention rates. The purpose of this study is to determine whether ground based paramedics can be taught and are able to retain the skills necessary to successfully perform a wire-guided cricothyrotomy...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence of pulmonary aspiration and other anesthesia-related adverse events in women undergoing dilation and evacuation (D&E) under intravenous deep sedation without tracheal intubation in an outpatient setting. METHODS: We reviewed all D&Es done under anesthesiologist-administered intravenous deep sedation without tracheal intubation between February 2009 and April 2013. The study's primary outcome was pulmonary aspiration; secondary outcomes included other anesthesia-related complications...

BACKGROUND: The approach to intrapartum and postnatal management of an infant born through meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) in the delivery room (DR) has changed several times over the last few decades, leading to confusion and anxiety among health care providers (nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, midwives, and physicians). This article provides state-of-the-art insight into the evidence or lack thereof for the changes in guidelines. PURPOSE: To discuss the evidence for evolution of DR management of vigorous and nonvigorous infants born through any type of MSAF...

BACKGROUND: Unpredictable difficult laryngoscopy remains a challenge for anaesthesiologists, especially if difficult ventilation occurs during standard laryngoscopy. Accurate airway assessment should always be performed, but the common clinical screening tests have shown low sensitivity and specificity with a limited predictive value. Ultrasound-based airway assessment has been proposed recently as a useful, simple, noninvasive bedside tool as an adjunct to clinical methods, but to date, few studies are available about the potential role of ultrasound in difficult airway evaluation, and these are mostly limited to specific groups of patients...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to quantify the proportion of patients undergoing rapid sequence intubation using ketamine in Australian and New Zealand EDs between 2010 and 2015. METHODS: The Australian and New Zealand Emergency Department Airway Registry is a multicentre airway registry prospectively capturing data from 43 sites. Data on demographics and physiology, the attending staff and indication for intubation were recorded. The primary outcome was the annual percentage of patients intubated with ketamine...

Klippel-Feil Syndrome is a disease characterised by congenital fusion of cervical vertebra, which leads to cervical limitation and instability. In these cases, the best option is the orotracheal intubation with the fibre-optic bronchoscope with the patient awake. The advantage is that cervical movements that could lead to neurological damage are minimised. In these patients, adequate sedation, together with instillation of local anaesthetic in the pharynx and hypopharynx, is the key to reducing patient discomfort and achieving successful orotracheal intubation...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This study aims to examine current knowledge on the occurrence, pathophysiology, and treatment of angioedema among patients who receive angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. RECENT FINDINGS: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I), a medication class used by an estimated 40 million people worldwide, are associated with angioedema that occurs with incidence ranging from 0.1 to 0.7%. The widespread use of ACE-I resulted in one third of all emergency department visits for angioedema...

PURPOSE: Surgical resection and reconstruction are considered the most appropriate approaches to treat post-intubation tracheal stenosis (PITS). Bronchoscopic methods can be utilized as palliative therapy in patients who are ineligible for surgical treatment or who develop post-surgical re-stenosis. We investigated treatment outcomes in patients with benign tracheal stenosis. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed in patients who were diagnosed with PITS...

BACKGROUND: The European Resuscitation Council guidelines for resuscitation in patients with traumatic cardiac arrest recommend the immediate treatment of all reversible causes, if necessary even prior to continuous chest compression. In the case of cardiac tamponade immediate emergency thoracotomy should also be considered. OBJECTIVE: The authors report the case of a 23-year-old male patient with multiple injuries including blunt thoracic trauma, which caused a witnessed cardiac arrest...

Background: The prevalence of obesity has substantially increased all over the world in the past decades and anesthesiologists more commonly encounter these patients. Excess cervical adipose tissues can result in the narrowing of the pharyngeal opening and affect laryngoscopic grade. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of manual caudal and cervical displacement of cervical adipose tissue on laryngoscopic view of morbid obese patients. Methods: A total of 70 patients with a BMI ≥ 35 were enrolled in this study...

AIM: To estimate the proportion of patients arriving with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) less than 9 who had a definitive airway placed prior to arrival. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the data from a multicentre, prospective observational research project entitled Towards Improved Trauma Care Outcomes in India. Adults aged ≥18 years with an isolated traumatic brain injury (TBI) who were transferred from another hospital to the emergency department of the participating hospital with a GCS less than 9 were included...