Guidelines for the management of tracheal intubation in critically ill adults

Bag-Mask Ventilation during Tracheal Intubation of Critically Ill Adults

BACKGROUND

Hypoxemia is the most common complication during tracheal intubation of critically ill adults and may increase the risk of cardiac arrest and death. Whether positive-pressure ventilation with a bag-mask device (bag-mask ventilation) during tracheal intubation of critically ill adults prevents hypoxemia without increasing the risk of aspiration remains controversial.

METHODS

In a multicenter, randomized trial conducted in seven intensive care units in the United States, we randomly assigned adults undergoing tracheal intubation to receive either ventilation with a bag-mask device or no ventilation between induction and laryngoscopy. The primary outcome was the lowest oxygen saturation observed during the interval between induction and 2 minutes after tracheal intubation. The secondary outcome was the incidence of severe hypoxemia, defined as an oxygen saturation of less than 80%.

RESULTS

Among the 401 patients enrolled, the median lowest oxygen saturation was 96% (interquartile range, 87 to 99) in the bag-mask ventilation group and 93% (interquartile range, 81 to 99) in the no-ventilation group (P = 0.01). A total of 21 patients (10.9%) in the bag-mask ventilation group had severe hypoxemia, as compared with 45 patients (22.8%) in the no-ventilation group (relative risk, 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.30 to 0.77). Operator-reported aspiration occurred during 2.5% of intubations in the bag-mask ventilation group and during 4.0% in the no-ventilation group (P = 0.41). The incidence of new opacity on chest radiography in the 48 hours after tracheal intubation was 16.4% and 14.8%, respectively (P = 0.73).

CONCLUSIONS

Among critically ill adults undergoing tracheal intubation, patients receiving bag-mask ventilation had higher oxygen saturations and a lower incidence of severe hypoxemia than those receiving no ventilation. (Funded by Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and others; PreVent ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03026322.).

The Difficult Airway Trolley: A Narrative Review and Practical Guide

Death and severe morbidity attributable to anesthesia are commonly associated with failed difficult airway management. When an airway emergency develops, immediate access to difficult airway equipment is critical for implementation of rescue strategies. Previously, national expert consensus guidelines have provided only limited guidance for the design and setup of a difficult airway trolley. The overarching aim of the current work was to create a dedicated difficult airway trolley (for patients>12 years old) for use in anesthesia theatres, intensive care units, and emergency departments. A systematic literature search was performed, using the PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar search engines. Based on evidence presented in 11 national or international guidelines, and peer-reviewed journals, we present and outline a difficult airway trolley organized to accommodate sequential progression through a four-step difficult airway algorithm. The contents of the top four drawers correspond to specific steps in the airway algorithm (A = intubation, B = oxygenation via a supraglottic airway device, C = facemask ventilation, and D = emergency invasive airway access). Additionally, specialized airway equipment may be included in the fifth drawer of the proposed difficult airway trolley, thus enabling widespread use. A logically designed, guideline-based difficult airway trolley is a vital resource for any clinician involved in airway management and may aid the adherence to difficult airway algorithms during evolving airway emergencies. Future research examining the availability of rescue airway devices in various clinical settings, and simulation studies comparing different types of difficult airway trolleys, are encouraged.

Evaluation of the Airtraq video laryngoscope as a rescue device after difficult direct laryngoscopy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Unexpected difficult tracheal intubation and failure to intubate are among the leading causes of anesthesia-related morbidity and mortality. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of the Airtraq video laryngoscope for tracheal intubation after difficult direct laryngoscopy.

METHODS

75 patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia and whose direct laryngoscopy by a senior anesthesiologist exhibited Cormack-Lehane grade 2b, 3 or 4 were enrolled.

RESULTS

The Glottic view was improved in all patients when using the Airtraq video laryngoscope, compared with Macintosh laryngoscope. The view was improved by 2 degrees in 17.3% of the cases, by three in 60% and by four grades in 22.7% (P<0.0001). The success rate for intubation was 100% with the Airtraq. Fifty-six patients (74.7%) required a single attempt, sixteen (21.3%) two attempts and three (4%) a third attempt. Intubation difficulty scale indicated that tracheal intubation was performed easily in most cases There were no critical events.

CONCLUSIONS

Tracheal intubation using the Airtraq was effective, simple and safe in patients with difficult laryngoscopy. These results confirm that the Airtraq is a reliable video laryngoscope as a rescue device in cases of difficult laryngeal view with direct laryngoscopy.

Airway management in pre-hospital critical care: a review of the evidence for a 'top five' research priority

The conduct and benefit of pre-hospital advanced airway management and pre-hospital emergency anaesthesia have been widely debated for many years. In 2011, prehospital advanced airway management was identified as a ‘top five’ in physician-provided pre-hospital critical care. This article summarises the evidence for and against this intervention since 2011 and attempts to address some of the more controversial areas of this topic.

Effect of a Strategy of a Supraglottic Airway Device vs Tracheal Intubation During Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest on Functional Outcome: The AIRWAYS-2 Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE

The optimal approach to airway management during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether a supraglottic airway device (SGA) is superior to tracheal intubation (TI) as the initial advanced airway management strategy in adults with nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Multicenter, cluster randomized clinical trial of paramedics from 4 ambulance services in England responding to emergencies for approximately 21 million people. Patients aged 18 years or older who had a nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and were treated by a participating paramedic were enrolled automatically under a waiver of consent between June 2015 and August 2017; follow-up ended in February 2018.

INTERVENTIONS

Paramedics were randomized 1:1 to use TI (764 paramedics) or SGA (759 paramedics) as their initial advanced airway management strategy.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcome was modified Rankin Scale score at hospital discharge or 30 days after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, whichever occurred sooner. Modified Rankin Scale score was divided into 2 ranges: 0-3 (good outcome) or 4-6 (poor outcome; 6 = death). Secondary outcomes included ventilation success, regurgitation, and aspiration.

RESULTS

A total of 9296 patients (4886 in the SGA group and 4410 in the TI group) were enrolled (median age, 73 years; 3373 were women [36.3%]), and the modified Rankin Scale score was known for 9289 patients. In the SGA group, 311 of 4882 patients (6.4%) had a good outcome (modified Rankin Scale score range, 0-3) vs 300 of 4407 patients (6.8%) in the TI group (adjusted risk difference [RD], -0.6% [95% CI, -1.6% to 0.4%]). Initial ventilation was successful in 4255 of 4868 patients (87.4%) in the SGA group compared with 3473 of 4397 patients (79.0%) in the TI group (adjusted RD, 8.3% [95% CI, 6.3% to 10.2%]). However, patients randomized to receive TI were less likely to receive advanced airway management (3419 of 4404 patients [77.6%] vs 4161 of 4883 patients [85.2%] in the SGA group). Two of the secondary outcomes (regurgitation and aspiration) were not significantly different between groups (regurgitation: 1268 of 4865 patients [26.1%] in the SGA group vs 1072 of 4372 patients [24.5%] in the TI group; adjusted RD, 1.4% [95% CI, -0.6% to 3.4%]; aspiration: 729 of 4824 patients [15.1%] vs 647 of 4337 patients [14.9%], respectively; adjusted RD, 0.1% [95% CI, -1.5% to 1.8%]).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, randomization to a strategy of advanced airway management with a supraglottic airway device compared with tracheal intubation did not result in a favorable functional outcome at 30 days.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN Identifier: 08256118.

Difficult tracheal intubation in critically ill

Background

Endotracheal intubation in critically ill is a high-risk procedure requiring significant expertise in airway handling as well as understanding of pathophysiology of the disease process.

Main body

Critically ill patients are prone for hypotension and hypoxemia in the immediate post-intubation phase due to blunting of compensatory sympathetic response. Preoxygenation without NIV is frequently suboptimal, as alveolar flooding cause loss of alveolar capillary interface in many of these patients. All these factors, along with relative fluid deficit, neuromuscular fatigue and coexistent organ dysfunction lead to physiologically difficult airway. Airway in ICU can be classified as anatomically difficult, physiologically difficult and anatomically as well as physiologically difficult. Though rapid sequence intubation is the recommended method for securing airway in these patients, other methods like delayed sequence intubation awake intubation and double setup approach can be used in specific subgroups. Further research is needed in this field to set guidelines and fine tune airway management for patients with specific organ failure or dysfunction.

Conclusion

Airway in ICU should be managed according to the physiological as well as the anatomical abnormalities.

Manual ventilation to prevent hypoxaemia during endotracheal intubation of critically ill adults: protocol and statistical analysis plan for a multicentre randomised trial

INTRODUCTION

Hypoxaemia is the most common complication during endotracheal intubation of critically ill adults, and it increases the risk of cardiac arrest and death. Manual ventilation between induction and intubation has been hypothesised to decrease the incidence of hypoxaemia, but efficacy and safety data are lacking.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The Preventing Hypoxemia with Manual Ventilation during Endotracheal Intubation trial is a prospective, multicentre, non-blinded randomised clinical trial being conducted in seven intensive care units in the USA. A total of 400 critically ill adults undergoing endotracheal intubation will be randomised 1:1 to receive prophylactic manual ventilation between induction and endotracheal intubation using a bag-valve-mask device or no prophylactic ventilation. The primary outcome is the lowest arterial oxygen saturation between induction and 2 min after successful endotracheal intubation, which will be analysed as an unadjusted, intention-to-treat comparison of patients randomised to prophylactic ventilation versus patients randomised to no prophylactic ventilation. The secondary outcome is the incidence of severe hypoxaemia, defined as any arterial oxygen saturation of less than 80% between induction and 2 min after endotracheal intubation. Enrolment began on 2 February 2017 and is expected to be complete in May 2018.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The trial was approved by the institutional review boards or designees of all participating centres. The results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at one or more scientific conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03026322; Pre-results.