Downward Trend in Pediatric Resident Laryngoscopy Participation in PICUs

Simulation-Facilitated Education for Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioners' Airway Management Skills: A 10-Year Experience

This study aimed to describe the process of the development and implementation with report of our 10-year experience with a simulation-facilitated airway management curriculum for pediatric acute care nurse practitioners in a large academic pediatric intensive care unit. This is a retrospective observational study. The study was conducted at a single-center quaternary noncardiac pediatric intensive care unit in an urban children's hospital in the United States. A pediatric critical care airway management curriculum for nurse practitioners consisting 4 hours of combined didactic and simulation-facilitated education followed by hands-on experience in the operating room. Tracheal intubations performed by nurse practitioners in the pediatric intensive care unit were tracked by a local quality improvement database, NEAR4KIDS from January 2009 to December 2018. Since curriculum initiation, 39 nurse practitioners completed the program. Nurse practitioners functioned as the first provider to attempt intubation in 473 of 3,128 intubations (15%). Also, 309 of 473 (65%) were successful at first attempt. Implementation of a simulation-facilitated pediatric airway management curriculum successfully supported the ongoing airway management participation and first attempt intubation success by nurse practitioners in the pediatric intensive care unit over the 10-year period.

Teaching Airway Management Using Virtual Reality: A Scoping Review

Airway management, a defined procedural and cognitive skillset embracing routine tracheal intubation and emergency airway rescue, is most often acquired through an apprenticeship model of opportunistic learning during anesthesia or acute care residency training. This training engages a host of modalities to teach and embed skill sets but is generally time- and location-constrained. Virtual reality (VR)-based simulation training offers the potential for reproducible and asynchronous skill acquisition and maintenance, an advantage that may be important with restricted trainee work hours and low frequency but high-risk events. In the absence of a formal curriculum from training bodies-or expert guidance from medical professional societies-local initiatives have filled the VR training void in an unstructured fashion. We undertook a scoping review to explore current VR-based airway management training programs to assess their approach, outcomes, and technologies to discover programming gaps. English-language publications addressing any aspect of VR simulation training for airway management were identified across PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. Relevant articles were used to craft a scoping review conforming to the Scale for quality Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA) best-practice guidance. Fifteen studies described VR simulation programs to teach airway management skills, including flexible fibreoptic bronchoscopic intubation (n = 10), direct laryngoscopy (n = 2), and emergency cricothyroidotomy (n = 1). All studies were single institution initiatives and all reported different protocols and end points using bespoke applications of commercial technology or homegrown technologic solutions. VR-based simulation for airway management currently occurs outside of a formal curriculum structure, only for specific skill sets, and without a training pathway for educators. Medical educators with simulation training and medical professional societies with content expertise have the opportunity to develop consensus guidelines that inform training curricula as well as specialty technology use.

Is Provider Training Level Associated with First Pass Success of Endotracheal Intubation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit?

Endotracheal intubation is a life-saving procedure in critically ill pediatric patients and a foundational skill for critical care trainees. Multiple intubation attempts are associated with increased adverse events and increased morbidity and mortality. Thus, we aimed to determine patient and provider factors associated with first pass success of endotracheal intubation in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This prospective, single-center quality improvement study evaluated patient and provider factors associated with multiple intubation attempts in a tertiary care, academic, PICU from May 2017 to May 2018. The primary outcome was the number of tracheal intubation attempts. Predictive factors for first pass success were analyzed by using univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis. A total of 98 intubation encounters in 75 patients were analyzed. Overall first pass success rate was 67% (66/98), and 7% (7/98) of encounters required three or more attempts. A Pediatric critical care medicine (PCCM) fellow was the first laryngoscopist in 94% (92/98) of encounters with a first pass success rate of 67% (62/92). Age of patient, history of difficult airway, provider training level, previous intubation experience, urgency of intubation, and time of day were not predictive of first pass success. First pass success improved slightly with increasing fellow year (fellow year = 1, 66%; fellow year = 2, 68%; fellow year = 3, 69%) but was not statistically significant. We identified no intrinsic or extrinsic factors associated with first pass intubation success. At a time when PCCM fellow intubation experience is at risk of declining, PCCM fellows should continue to take the first attempt at most intubations in the PICU.

A Prospective Observational Crossover Study Comparing Intubation by Pediatric Residents Using Video Laryngoscopy and Direct Laryngoscopy on a Pierre Robin Simulation Manikin

INTRODUCTION

Video laryngoscopy (VL) has been proposed to increase the likelihood of successful intubation in patients with predicted difficult airways such as those with Pierre Robin sequence (PRS). Prior studies have focused on the performance of anesthesiologists, who are generally considered airway experts. Our primary aim was to investigate the success rate of intubation using VL compared with direct laryngoscopy (DL) when attempted by pediatric residents on a PRS model.

METHODS

Participants were administered a 5-minute refresher video on 2 VL techniques (CMAC, conventional geometry VL, and McGrath, unconventional geometry VL) and DL. The participants were asked to intubate the AirSim PRS infant manikin. The order of VL and DL use was randomly selected. All intubations were video recorded, and the recordings were analyzed by 3 anesthesiologists blinded to the participant's identity and previous experience.

RESULTS

Seventeen of 23 residents succeeded in intubating the PRS model using DL. Only 9 residents succeeded in intubating the PRS model using VL (conventional or unconventional geometry). Intubation success rate was higher when comparing DL with VL ( P = 0.04) and similar when comparing VL devices ( P = 0.69).

DISCUSSION

Contrary to expectation, the intubation success rate was lower using VL than with DL among pediatric residents. This should be considered when designing residency training and in real-life resuscitation.

Intubation practice and outcomes among pediatric emergency departments: A report from National Emergency Airway Registry for Children (NEAR4KIDS)

BACKGROUND

Tracheal intubation (TI) practice across pediatric emergency departments (EDs) has not been comprehensively reported. We aim to describe TI practice and outcomes in pediatric EDs in contrast to those in intensive are units (ICUs) and use the data to identify quality improvement targets.

METHODS

Consecutive TI encounters from pediatric EDs and ICUs in the National Emergency Airway Registry for Children (NEAR4KIDS) database from 2015 to 2018 were analyzed for patient, provider, and practice characteristics and outcomes: adverse TI-associated events (TIAEs), oxygen desaturation (SpO₂ < 80%), and procedural success. A multivariable model identified factors associated with TIAEs in the ED.

RESULTS

A total of 756 TIs in 13 pediatric EDs and 12,512 TIs in 51 pediatric/cardiac ICUs were reported. Median (interquartile range [IQR]) patient age for ED TIs was higher (32 [7-108] months) than that for ICU TIs (15 [3-91] months; p < 0.001). Proportion of TIs for respiratory decompensation (52% of ED vs. 64% ICU), shock (26% vs. 14%), and neurologic deterioration (30% vs. 11%) also differed by location. Limited neck mobility was reported more often in the ED (16% vs. 6%). TIs in the ED were performed more often via video laryngoscopy (64% vs. 29%). Adverse TIAE rates (15.6% ED, 14% ICU; absolute difference = 1.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.1 to 4.2; p = 0.23) and severe TIAE rates (5.4% ED, 5.8% ICU; absolute difference = -0.3%, 95% CI = -2.0 to 1.3; p = 0.68) were not different. Oxygen desaturation was less commonly reported in ED TIs (13.6%) than ICU TIs (17%, absolute difference = -3.4%, 95% CI = -5.9 to -0.8; p = 0.016). Among ED TIs, shock as an indication (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.26 to 3.65) and limited mouth opening (aOR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.04 to 2.93) were independently associated with TIAEs.

CONCLUSIONS

While TI characteristics vary between pediatric EDs and ICUs, outcomes are similar. Shock and limited mouth opening were independently associated with adverse TI events in the ED.

Patient characteristics associated with complications during neonatal intubations

INTRODUCTION

Complications of neonatal intubation are known to be increased with emergent intubations, increased number of attempts, unstable hemodynamics, or ventilation failure; and decreased with use of paralytic medication and videolaryngoscopy. Patient characteristics associated with complications are not well understood.

DESIGN/METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was performed of neonates who underwent intubation between January 2017 and June 2019. Patient characteristics of infants with and without complications were compared. Complications included common adverse events and abnormal vital sign changes occurring during intubation.

RESULTS

A total of 467 intubation encounters in 352 infants were included with median gestational age (GA) at birth of 29 weeks, postmenstrual age (PMA) 33 weeks at intubation, and median weight 1795 g. 41.5% of infants had complications and 58.5% of infants did not. Infants with complications compared to infants without had a median FiO₂ of 0.50 versus 0.45 (p = .183), median GA at birth of 29 versus 31 weeks (p < .001), median PMA of 32 weeks versus 33.0 weeks (p = .352), median weight of 1540 g versus 1970g (p = .091), and median chronological age of 3 days versus 1 day (p = .001). Generalized Estimating Equations controlling for administration of paralytic indicated decreased complications in infants ≤21.5 days in chronological age (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.30-0.69) and increased complications in infants ≤1565 g (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.04-2.23).

CONCLUSION

Patient characteristics associated with an increased rate of complications included chronological age and weight. Further study is needed to reduce complications.

Risk factors of laryngeal injuries in extubated critical pediatric patients

Background

The larynx in children is unique compared to adults. This makes the larynx more prone to trauma during intubation. Under sedation and frequent repositioning of the tube are recorded as risk factors for laryngeal injury. We examined the larynx of 40 critically ill children in the first 24 h after extubation to estimate the frequency and analyze the risk factors for laryngeal trauma using the classification system for acute laryngeal injury (CALI).

Results

The post-extubation stridor patients had a higher frequency of diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism, longer duration of ventilation, longer hospital stay, moderate to severe involvement of glottic and subglottic area, frequent intubation attempts, and more than 60 s to intubate Regression analysis of the risk factors of severity of the injury has shown that development of ventilator-associated pneumonia carried the highest risk (OR 32.111 95% CI 5.660 to 182.176), followed by time elapsed till intubation in seconds (OR 11.836, 95% CI 2.889 to 48.490), number of intubation attempts (OR 10.8, CI 2.433 to 47.847), and development of pneumothorax (OR 10.231, 95% CI 1.12 to 93.3).

Conclusion

The incidence of intubation-related laryngeal trauma in pediatric ICU is high and varies widely from mild, non-symptomatic to moderate, and severe and could be predicted by any of the following: prolonged days of ventilation, pneumothorax, multiple tube changes, or difficult intubation.

Impact of Physician Training Level on Neonatal Tracheal Intubation Success Rates and Adverse Events: A Report from National Emergency Airway Registry for Neonates (NEAR4NEOS)

INTRODUCTION

Neonatal tracheal intubation (TI) outcomes have been assessed by role, but training level may impact TI success and safety. Effect of physician training level (PTL) on the first-attempt success, adverse TI-associated events (TIAEs), and oxygen desaturation was assessed.

METHODS

Prospective cohort study in 11 international NEAR4NEOS sites between October 2014 and December 2017. Primary TIs performed by pediatric/neonatal physicians were included. Univariable analysis evaluated association between PTL, patient/practice characteristics, and outcomes. Multivariable analysis with generalized estimating equation assessed for independent association between PTL and outcomes (first-attempt success, TIAEs, and oxygen desaturation ≥20%; attending as reference).

RESULTS

Of 2,608 primary TIs, 1,298 were first attempted by pediatric/neonatal physicians. PTL was associated with patient age, weight, comorbidities, TI indication, difficult airway history, premedication, and device. First-attempt success rate differed across PTL (resident 23%, fellow 53%, and attending 60%; p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in TIAEs (resident 22%, fellow 20%, and attending 25%; p = 0.34). Desaturation occurred more frequently with residents (60%), compared to fellows and attendings (46 and 53%; p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, adjusted odds ratio of the first-attempt success was 0.18 (95% CI: 0.11-0.30) for residents and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.51-1.24) for fellows. PTL was not independently associated with adjusted odds of TIAEs or severe oxygen desaturation.

CONCLUSION

Higher PTL was associated with increased first-attempt success but not TIAE/oxygen desaturation. Identifying strategies to decrease adverse events during neonatal TI remains critical.

Tracheal Intubation-related adverse events in pediatrics anesthesia in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Tracheal intubation is a common intervention for many pediatric surgical patients. Even though it can be lifesaving, it carries a risk of morbidity and even mortality. Evidence is lacking regarding the adverse events related to pediatric intubation in Ethiopia. This study is aimed to assess the scale of tracheal intubation-related adverse events with its associated factors in pediatrics surgical patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

METHODS

An Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 310 pediatric surgical patients who underwent major surgery from December 30, 2019, to February 30, 2020. All pediatrics patients scheduled for surgery under general anesthesia in the study period were included in this study. Data with complete information were entered into Epi Info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 22 for analysis. Descriptive statistics, bivariate, and multivariable logistic regression were computed to identify factors associated with tracheal intubation-related adverse events. The level of statistical significance was declared at a P-value of less than .05.

RESULT

In this study, the overall incidence of tracheal intubation-related adverse events in pediatrics patients was 36.5%. Being a neonate (AOR = 4.13, 95% CI: 1.26-13.49), emergency surgery (AOR = 3.39, 95% CI: 1.41-8.13), difficult intubation (AOR, 4.08, 95% CI: 1.01-7.50), intubation without using premedication (AOR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.45-10.83), intubation without using muscle relaxant (AOR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.10-8.14), and tracheal intubation attempted more than three times (AOR = 3.92, 95% CI: 0.16-7.39) were identified as independent predictors of tracheal intubation-related adverse events.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The incidence of tracheal intubation-related adverse events in pediatric surgical patients is high. Anesthesia professionals should be vigilant and have a preplanned strategy to avoid intubation-related adverse events, especially in high-risk patients. The use of difficult airway algorithms, oxygen saturation monitoring, and training in simulation room are very important strategies to help reduce patient harm.

Declining Procedures in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Using a National Database

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Objectives:

To investigate the change in rate of invasive procedures (endotracheal intubation, central venous catheters, arterial catheters, and peripheral inserted central venous catheters) performed in PICUs per admission over time. Secondarily, to investigate the change in type of respiratory support over time.

Design:

Retrospective study of prospectively collected data using the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS; LLC, Los Angeles, CA) database.

Setting:

North American PICUs.

Patients:

Patients admitted from January 2009 to December 2017.

Interventions:

None.

Measurements and Main Results:

There were 902,624 admissions from 161 PICUs included in the analysis. Since 2009, there has been a decrease in rate of endotracheal intubations, central venous catheters placed, and arterial catheters placed and an increase in the rate of peripheral inserted central venous catheter insertion per admission over time after controlling for severity of illness and unit level effects. As compared to 2009, the incident rate ratio for 2017 for endotracheal intubation was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.83–0.98; p = 0.017), for central venous line placement 0.69 (0.63–0.74; p < 0.001), for arterial catheter insertion 0.85 (0.79–0.92; p < 0.001), and for peripheral inserted central venous catheter placement 1.14 (1.03–1.26; p = 0.013). Over this time period, in a subgroup with available data, there was a decrease in the rate of invasive mechanical ventilation and an increase in the rate of noninvasive respiratory support (bilevel positive airway pressure/continuous positive airway pressure and high-flow nasal oxygen) per admission.

Conclusions:

Over 9 years across multiple North American PICUs, the rate of endotracheal intubations, central catheter, and arterial catheter insertions per admission has decreased. The use of invasive mechanical ventilation has decreased with an increase in noninvasive respiratory support. These data support efforts to improve exposure to invasive procedures in training and structured systems to evaluate continued competency.

The New Trainee Effect in Tracheal Intubation Procedural Safety Across PICUs in North America: A Report From National Emergency Airway Registry for Children

OBJECTIVES

Tracheal intubation carries a high risk of adverse events. The current literature is unclear regarding the "New Trainee Effect" on tracheal intubation safety in the PICU. We evaluated the effect of the timing of the PICU fellow academic cycle on tracheal intubation associated events. We hypothesize 1) PICUs with pediatric critical care medicine fellowship programs have more adverse tracheal intubation associated events during the first quarter (July-September) of the academic year compared with the rest of the year and 2) tracheal intubation associated event rates and first attempt success performed by pediatric critical care medicine fellows improve through the 3-year clinical fellowship.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Thirty-seven North American PICUs participating in National Emergency Airway Registry for Children.

PATIENTS

All patients who underwent tracheal intubations in the PICU from July 2013 to June 2017.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The occurrence of any tracheal intubation associated events during the first quarter of the academic year (July-September) was compared with the rest in four different types of PICUs: PICUs with fellows and residents, PICUs with fellows only, PICUs with residents only, and PICUs without trainees. For the second hypothesis, tracheal intubations by critical care medicine fellows were categorized by training level and quarter for 3 years of fellowship (i.e., July-September of 1st yr pediatric critical care medicine fellowship = first quarter, October-December of 1st yr pediatric critical care medicine fellowship = second quarter, and April-June during 3rd year = 12th quarter). A total of 9,774 tracheal intubations were reported. Seven-thousand forty-seven tracheal intubations (72%) were from PICUs with fellows and residents, 525 (5%) with fellows only, 1,201 (12%) with residents only, and 1,001 (10%) with no trainees. There was no difference in the occurrence of tracheal intubation associated events in the first quarter versus the rest of the year (all PICUs: July-September 14.9% vs October-June 15.2%; p = 0.76). There was no difference between these two periods in each type of PICUs (all p ≥ 0.19). For tracheal intubations by critical care medicine fellows (n = 3,836), tracheal intubation associated events significantly decreased over the fellowship: second quarter odds ratio 0.64 (95% CI, 0.45-0.91), third quarter odds ratio 0.58 (95% CI, 0.42-0.82), and 12th quarter odds ratio 0.40 (95% CI, 0.24-0.67) using the first quarter as reference after adjusting for patient and device characteristics. First attempt success significantly improved during fellowship: second quarter odds ratio 1.39 (95% CI, 1.04-1.85), third quarter odds ratio 1.59 (95% CI, 1.20-2.09), and 12th quarter odds ratio 2.11 (95% CI, 1.42-3.14).

CONCLUSIONS

The New Trainee Effect in tracheal intubation safety outcomes was not observed in various types of PICUs. There was a significant improvement in pediatric critical care medicine fellows' first attempt success and a significant decline in tracheal intubation associated event rates, indicating substantial skills acquisition throughout pediatric critical care medicine fellowship.

Improving the Resident Educational Experience in a Level IV Neonatal/Infant Intensive Care Unit

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

The neonatal/infant intensive care unit (N/IICU) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is a 98-bed, level IV unit through which second-year pediatric residents rotate monthly. We developed a quality improvement project to improve the resident educational experience using goal setting. Primary objectives were to increase resident educational goal identification to 65% and goal achievement to 85% by June 2017. Secondary objectives were to (1) increase in-person feedback from fellows and/or attendings to 90% by June 2017 and (2) sustain improvements through June 2018.

Changing the view: Video versus direct laryngoscopy for intubation in the pediatric emergency department

The aim of this study was to compare the success of first-attempt tracheal intubation in pediatric patients >1-year old performed using video versus direct laryngoscopy and compare the frequency of tracheal intubation-associated events and desaturation among these patients.Prospective observational cohort study conducted in an Academic pediatric tertiary emergency department. We compared 50 children intubated with Mcgrath Mac video laryngoscope (VL group) and an historical series of 141 children intubated with direct laryngoscopy (DL group). All patients were aged 1 to 18 years.The first attempt success rates were 68% (34/50) and 37.6% (53/141) in the VL and DL groups (P < .01), respectively. There was a lower proportion of tracheal intubation-associated events in the VL group (VL, 31.3% [15/50] vs DL, 67.8% [97/141]; P < .01) and no significant differences in desaturation (VL, 35% [14/50] vs DL 51.8% [72/141]; P = .06). The median number of attempts was 1 (range, 1-5) for the VL group and 2 (range, 1-8) for the DL group (P < .01). Multivariate logistic regression showed that video laryngoscope use was associated with higher chances of first-attempt intubation with an odds ratio of 4.5 (95% confidence interval, 1.9-10.4, P < 0.01).Compared with direct laryngoscopy, VL was associated with higher success rates of first-attempt tracheal intubations and lower rates of tracheal intubation-associated events.

Normal and difficult airways in children: "What's New"-Current evidence

BACKGROUND

Pediatric difficult airway is one of the most challenging clinical situations. We will review new concepts and evidence in pediatric normal and difficult airway management in the operating room, intensive care unit, Emergency Department, and neonatal intensive care unit.

METHODS

Expert review of the recent literature.

RESULTS

Cognitive factors, teamwork, and communication play a major role in managing pediatric difficult airway. Earlier studies evaluated videolaryngoscopes in a monolithic way yielding inconclusive results regarding their effectiveness. There are, however, substantial differences among videolaryngoscopes particularly angulated vs. nonangulated blades which have different learning and use characteristics. Each airway device has strengths and weaknesses, and combining these devices to leverage both strengths will likely yield success. In the pediatric intensive care unit, emergency department and neonatal intensive care units, adverse tracheal intubation-associated events and hypoxemia are commonly reported. Specific patient, clinician, and practice factors are associated with these occurrences. In both the operating room and other clinical areas, use of passive oxygenation will provide additional laryngoscopy time. The use of neuromuscular blockade was thought to be contraindicated in difficult airway patients. Newer evidence from observational studies showed that controlled ventilation with or without neuromuscular blockade is associated with fewer adverse events in the operating room. Similarly, a multicenter neonatal intensive care unit study showed fewer adverse events in infants who received neuromuscular blockade. Neuromuscular blockade should be avoided in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis, head and neck radiation, airway masses, and external airway compression for anticipated worsening airway collapse with neuromuscular blocker administration.

CONCLUSION

Clinicians caring for children with difficult airways should consider new cognitive paradigms and concepts, leverage the strengths of multiple devices, and consider the role of alternate anesthetic approaches such as controlled ventilation and use of neuromuscular blocking drugs in select situations. Anesthesiologists can partner with intensive care and emergency department and neonatology clinicians to improve the safety of airway management in all clinical settings.

Endotracheal intubation by a specialised paediatric retrieval team

OBJECTIVES

Intubation of critically ill children is an infrequent procedure, and is associated with significant risk. We set out to describe intubations carried out by the Children's Health Queensland Retrieval Service (CHQRS), with the intention to identify areas for improvement in the performance of intubation in the retrieval setting.

METHODS

Paediatric patients undergoing transport while intubated were identified, and cases where intubation occurred after the arrival of the CHQRS team were examined.

RESULTS

Over the study period of January 2015 to September 2018, 498 intubated retrievals were undertaken; 85 patients were intubated after the arrival of CHQRS; the age range was 1 day to 16.5 years (median 0.5, interquartile range [IQR] 0.11-3 years). The median weight was 6.2 kg (IQR 3.7-16.5 kg). The pathology requiring intubation included respiratory 36 (42.3%), sepsis 21 (24.7%), neurological 11 (12.9%) and trauma 7 (8.2%). A total of 470 of 498 (94.4%) of intubated patients were from regional referral or tertiary hospitals, 28 of 498 (5.6%) were from rural and remote facilities. Of 85 patients, 57 (67.1%) were intubated by CHQRS and 28 (32.9%) were intubated by a doctor from the referring facility. The CHQRS team was more likely to perform the intubation in smaller children (median weight 5.0 vs 9.9 kg, P = 0.03). The mean scene time was 2.8 h. The scene time was shorter if the intubation was performed by CHQRS (mean 2.6 h, median 2.5, IQR 1.8-3.3; median 3, IQR 2.2-3.9; P = 0.048). The scene time was shorter when the intubation was predicted from tasking information (2.6 vs 3.1 h; P = 0.03).

CONCLUSION

Paediatric endotracheal intubation is an infrequent procedure in our service. An airway registry could improve documentation and gather information to identify specific training requirements and areas for practice improvement.

Neonatal Intubation Practice and Outcomes: An International Registry Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Neonatal tracheal intubation is a critical but potentially dangerous procedure. We sought to characterize intubation practice and outcomes in the NICU and delivery room (DR) settings and to identify potentially modifiable factors to improve neonatal intubation safety.

METHODS

We developed the National Emergency Airway Registry for Neonates and collected standardized data for patients, providers, practices, and outcomes of neonatal intubation. Safety outcomes included adverse tracheal intubation-associated events (TIAEs) and severe oxygen desaturation (≥20% decline in oxygen saturation). We examined the relationship between intubation characteristics and adverse events with univariable tests and multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

We captured 2009 NICU intubations and 598 DR intubations from 10 centers. Pediatric residents attempted 15% of NICU and 2% of DR intubations. In the NICU, the first attempt success rate was 49%, adverse TIAE rate was 18%, and severe desaturation rate was 48%. In the DR, 46% of intubations were successful on the first attempt, with 17% TIAE rate and 31% severe desaturation rate. Site-specific TIAE rates ranged from 9% to 50% (P < .001), and severe desaturation rates ranged from 29% to 69% (P = .001). Practices independently associated with reduced TIAEs in the NICU included video laryngoscope (adjusted odds ratio 0.46, 95% confidence interval 0.28-0.73) and paralytic premedication (adjusted odds ratio 0.38, 95% confidence interval 0.25-0.57).

CONCLUSIONS

We implemented a novel multisite neonatal intubation registry and identified potentially modifiable factors associated with adverse events. Our results will inform future interventional studies to improve neonatal intubation safety.

Declining Procedures by Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Trainees

Background: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship trainees need to acquire skills to perform procedures. Over the last several years there have been advances that allowed for less invasive forms of interventions. Objective: Our hypothesis was that over the past decade the rate of procedures performed by Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship trainees decreased. Methods: Retrospective review at a single institution, tertiary, academic, children's hospital of patients admitted from July 1, 2007-June 30, 2017 to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit. A Poisson regression model with a scale adjustment for over-dispersion estimated by the square root of Pearson's Chi-Square/DOF was applied. Results: There has been a statistically significant decrease in the average rate of central venous lines (p = 0.004; -5.72; 95% CI: -9.45, -1.82) and arterial lines (p = 0.02; -7.8; 95% CI: -13.90, -1.25) per Fellow per years in Fellowship over the last 10 years. There was no difference in the rate of intubations per Fellow per years in Fellowship (p = 0.27; 1.86; 95% CI:-1.38, 5.24). Conclusions: There has been a statistically significant decrease in the rate of central venous lines and arterial lines performed by Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship trainees per number of years in Fellowship over the last 10 years. Educators need to be constantly reassessing the clinical landscape in an effort to make sure that trainees are receiving adequate educational experiences as this has the potential for an impact on the education of trainees and the safety of the patients that they care for.