Maintenance of basic endotracheal intubation skills with direct or video-assisted laryngoscopy: A randomized crossover follow-up study in inexperienced operators

A comparison of tracheal intubation using intubrite laryngoscope and conventional MAC laryngoscope: An open, prospective, crossover manikin study

BACKGROUND

New devices are more available in the pre-hospital environment operational theaters and emergency departments. One is an intubrite laryngoscope (INT) with Dual LED lighting that combines ultraviolet and white LED. The study aimed to compare the efficacy of endotracheal intubation using INT and conventional laryngoscope performed by inexperienced paramedics (paramedics students) and paramedics with experience in advanced airways management in full and limited accessibility settings.

METHODS

It was an open, prospective, crossover manikin study. Sixty paramedics and paramedic students were recruited. Participants were divided into 2 equal groups depending on their experience (n = 30). Experienced participants were further randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 15). Inexperienced participants were also randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 15). The criterion of inexperience was 5 or fewer intubation by any laryngoscope. Inexperience participants were asked to perform tracheal intubation in standard pre-hospital settings (without limited access to manikin) (scenario A) and difficult pre-hospital settings (limited access to manikin - narrow space between benches) (scenario B). Experience participants were asked to intubate manikin in difficult pre-hospital settings.

RESULTS

In the normal pre-hospital environment, the success rate after the first attempt was 56,7% for conventional laryngoscope and 66,7% for intubrite. However, the overall effectiveness of tracheal intubation using both laryngoscopes in 3 attempts was 90% for both devices. The successful rate of first attempt intubation in a difficult environment by inexperienced was 73,3% for INT and 50% for conventional laryngoscope. Overall effectiveness was 83,3% and 86,7% respectively. The successful rate of first attempt intubation in the experienced group was 86,7% with INT compared to 60% with a conventional laryngoscope in difficult settings. Overall effectiveness was 96,7% for both devices.

CONCLUSION

Intubrite provided better working conditions and make up for deficiencies in successful tracheal intubation by inexperienced participants in a normal and difficult environment. Tracheal intubation with intubrite was more effective in the experienced group. Tracheal intubation effectiveness with intubrite was also higher in the experienced group.

Videolaryngoscopy as a primary intubation modality in obstetrics: A narrative review of current evidence

Pregnancy-related physiologic and anatomic changes affect oxygenation and airway management, and it is widely believed that airway difficulty may be more common in obstetric patients as a result. In addition, most obstetric intubations are performed under emergency conditions, and preoperative airway assessment poorly predicts airway management outcomes. These considerations necessitate special protocols for airway care in the obstetric population, and the evolution of the videolaryngoscope represents one of the most important milestones in recent decades. However, recommendations for the use of videolaryngoscopy in obstetrics remain unclear. A considerable body of evidence affirms that videolaryngoscopy improves laryngeal visualisation, increases first-attempt and overall intubation success rates, shortens intubation time, and facilitates team communication and education. In contrast, a significant number of studies have also reported conflicting results regarding comparative clinical outcomes and have highlighted other limitations regarding the adoption of videolaryngoscopy in routine obstetric care. Nevertheless, considering the peculiarities of obstetric intubation, the Macintosh-style videolaryngoscope can be suggested as the primary intubation device as it offers the benefits of both videolaryngoscopy and direct laryngoscopy. However, more rigorous evidence is needed to clarify the current blind spots and controversies regarding the role of videolaryngoscopy in obstetrics.

Retention of emergency cricothyroidotomy skills: A multicenter randomized controlled trial

Objectives

Emergency cricothyroidotomy is the final approach to establishing a secure airway. The procedure is acute and highly infrequent, making it difficult to achieve and maintain competence in the clinic. Simulation-based training in emergency cricothyroidotomy is effective but it is unknown how often training should be repeated to maintain skills. This study aimed to assess novices' retention of technical skills in emergency cricothyroidotomy after completing SBT.

Methods

Novices in emergency cricothyroidotomy completed a structured, simulation-based training program and were randomized to retention tests after 1, 3, or 6 months. Participants completed two emergency cricothyroidotomy tests at end-of-training and follow-up retention testing. Test performances were video recorded and evaluated by two experienced blinded raters using a structured assessment tool. Differences in the performances and the pass/fail rates were analyzed.

Results

Eighty-two medical students from two different Danish universities were included from April 2021 to February 2022. Paired t-tests showed skills decay significantly after 1 month (mean loss 6.7 points, p < 0.001). The mean loss of points, representing the difference in global score points, from the end-of-training to retention test was 6.7 points (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5-8.8) for the 1-month group, 8.2 points (95% CI 5.8-10.0) for the 3-months group, and 9.9 points (95% CI 8.1-11.7) for the 6-months group. Six participants in both the 1-month group (23.1%) and the 3-month group (24%) passed the first retention test, but no one in the 6-months group had a passing performance.

Conclusions

Novices' technical skills performance in emergency cricothyroidotomy decay significantly already after 1 month. This initial loss of skill seems to be stable until 3 months, after which there is a further significant loss of skills. Recurring training should be implemented for the benefit of patient safety and outcomes.

An Evaluation of the Intubrite Laryngoscope in Simulated In-Hospital and Out-of-Hospital Settings by Individuals with No Clinical Experience: A Randomized, Cross-Over, Manikin Study

Introduction: The aim of the study was to compare the Intubrite laryngoscope and the standard Macintosh blade laryngoscope (MCL) used by persons with no clinical experience in simulated hospital and non-hospital conditions on a manikin model. Materials and methods: The study involved 50 students of Medical Rescue. The hospital conditions (intubation height 110 cm—high position) and those occurring at the scene (intubation of a manikin located at floor level-low position) were simulated. The analysis included: duration of intubation, visibility of the laryngeal opening by the Cormack−Lehane scale, the bioelectrical activity of the intubating muscles, comfort and subjective assessment of physical effort by the Borg scale (Borg’s scale of subjective feeling of effort). The statistical analysis was performed with Microsoft Excel and T-student tests for pairs with unequal variables. The statistical importance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The use of an Intubrite laryngoscope significantly reduces the mean endotracheal intubation time compared to the Macintosh laryngoscope in a low position (17.34 s versus 19.04 s, p < 0.05). A higher rate of repeat intubations was observed in a low position for MCL (from 10% to 14%, p < 0.05). The reverse is true for Intubrite laryngoscope intubation (from 8% to 4%, p < 0.05 Please explain what is compared). The Intubrite laryngoscope improved visualization of glottis in the high and the low positions compared to the Macintosh laryngoscope (54% and 50% to 52% and 38%, respectively, p < 0.05). The risk of tooth damage was the same for the Intubrite and the MCL laryngoscopes in a high position (16% and 14%, respectively, p > 0.05), while in the simulated out-of-hospital setting, it was significantly higher for the MCL (22% versus 8%, p < 0.05). The subjective comfort of intubation in both simulated situations was similar according to the Borg scale (p-value, values). The use of the Intubrite laryngoscope was associated with less effort than the MCL in high versus low positions. For MCL, intubation in a high position was associated with lower mean muscle activity than in a low position (+48.24 µV versus +58.25 µV, p-value). For the Intubrite laryngoscope, these values were at similar levels (+52.03 µV and +52.65 µV, p-value). Conclusions: The use of the Intubrite laryngoscope by people with no clinical experience shortens the time of intubation and improves the laryngeal view compared to the standard Macintosh laryngoscope, but it requires similar muscle work in simulated conditions.

Airway management procedures in Swedish emergency department patients - a national retrospective study

Background

With the on-going debate about which specialty should be responsible for intubations in the emergency department in mind, the aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of endotracheal intubation and other airway management procedures in emergency department patients in Sweden.

Methods

All patients registered in the Swedish Intensive Care Registry with admission date from January 1 2013 until June 7 2018 and reported admission type “from the emergency department” or “emergency department” reported in the SAPS3 scoring were included. All patients missing codes for procedures were excluded.

Results

A total of 110,072 admissions from an emergency department to an ICU were registered during the study period. Of these, 41,619 admissions (37.8%) were excluded due to lack of codes for medical procedures. The remaining 68,453 admissions (62.2%) were included, and 31,888 emergency airway procedures (within 3 h from admission time to the intensive care unit) were registered. Invasive emergency airway procedures were the most common type of airway procedure (n = 23,446), followed by non-invasive airway procedures (n = 8377) and high-flow nasal cannula (n = 880). In 2017 a total of 4720 invasive emergency airway management procedures were registered.

Conclusions

The frequency of invasive airway management procedures in Swedish EDs is low. With approximately 1.9 million adult ED visits per year, this gives an estimated incidence of 2.4 invasive airway management procedures per thousand ED visits in 2017.

Trial registration

Not applicable.