Tracheal extubation in children with difficult airways: a descriptive cohort analysis

Extubation and removal of supraglottic airway devices in pediatric anesthesia

In pediatric anesthesia, respiratory adverse events often occur during emergence from anesthesia and at the time of endotracheal tube or supraglottic device removal. The removal of airway devices and extubation are conducted either while patients are deeply anesthetized or when patients awaken from anesthesia and have regained consciousness. The airways of children are easily irritated by external stimuli and are structurally prone to collapse, and the timing of both methods of airway device removal is similarly associated with various airway complications, including upper airway obstruction, coughing, or serious adverse events such as laryngospasm and desaturation. In current pediatric anesthesia practice, the choice of the timing and method of extubation is made by anesthesiologists. To achieve a smooth and safe recovery from anesthesia, understanding the unique characteristics of pediatric airways and the factors likely to contribute to an increased risk of perioperative complications remains essential. These factors include patient age, comorbidities, and physical conditions. The level of anesthesia and readiness for removal of airway devices should be evaluated carefully for each patient, and quick identification of airway problems and intervention is required if patients fail to maintain the airway and sufficient ventilation after removal of airway devices.

Developing an Extubation strategy for the difficult pediatric airway-Who, when, why, where, and how?

Comprehensive airway management of the pediatric patient with a difficult airway requires a plan for the transition back to a patent and protected airway. Multiple techniques are available to manage the periextubation period. Equally important is performing a comprehensive risk assessment and developing a strategy that optimizes the likelihood of safe extubation. This includes team-focused communication of the desired goals, critical steps in the process, and potential responses in the case of failed extubation. This review summarizes extubation of pediatric patients with difficult airways along with one suggested framework to manage this challenging period.

Tracheal extubation in children: Planning, technique, and complications

Although poorly described in textbooks and rarely a topic of lecture, tracheal extubation is a critical phase of anesthetic care. It should therefore be carefully planned taking into account simple physiology-based principles to maintain the upper airway patent and avoid lung de-recruitment, but also the pharmacology of all anesthetic agents used. Although the management of most of its complications can be learned in a clinical simulation environment, the basic techniques can so far only be taught at the bedside, in the operating room. In this paper, the process of extubation is described in successive steps: preparation, return to adequate spontaneous ventilation, awake versus deep extubation, timing according to the child's breathing cycle, extubation in the operating room or in the Postanesthesia Care unit, child's management immediately after extubation, diagnosis and treatment of the early complications, and finally, how to prepare for a difficult reintubation.

Utility of fiberoptic bronchoscopy for difficult airway in neonates

BACKGROUND

Newborns diagnosed with craniofacial malformations or laryngeal and tracheal alterations may often need advanced airway-management for airway stabilization. Although fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FB) is currently the gold standard for difficult airway management, there is a scarcity of published data on the application of FB in newborns for intubation and controlled extubation (CE).

OBJECTIVES

This study describes a case series where FB is used for intubation and/or extubation to manage newborns with difficult airway in either urgent procedures or scheduled ones.

METHODS

All FB were carried out on newborns with difficult airway in the neonatal unit over the period January 2005 to December 2018. Patient characteristics were collected from clinical reports, description of the technique from the procedure report.

RESULTS

66 FBs were performed from a total of 40 newborns, a median age of 25 days and a weight of 3217 g. Eighteen were ex-premature babies (45%). Six (15%) had craniocervical malformations. 17 (25.7%) FBs were performed for tracheal intubation (TI), 6 in emergency situations, 34 (51.5%) for CE, and 15 (22.7%) for precise tube placement. Clearing of the airway was achieved in all cases and thus there were no failed TIs. In 32 cases (94.1%), CE was successfully performed. In 6 cases, withdrawal of the ET midprocedure was decided to postpone as 4 of these required extra treatment prior to renewed extubation attempt and 2 needed a tracheostomy. 2 patients required subsequent FB reintubation due to airway pathology. Complications during the procedure were mild desaturations (3%) and deep desaturations (7.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

FB is very safe and highly useful when performing intubation in neonates with difficult airway but is essential during extubation to avoid any risk of failure with a potentially fatal outcome. Neonatal units of tertiary hospitals should provide equipment and training to manage these neonates.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN?

A failed intubation or extubation can lead to cardiac arrest and anoxic brain damage and/or to death in a neonate. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy is recommended as the safest tool for neonates with difficult airway. However, there is little concrete data published in the current literature to support the recommendations.

WHAT IS NEW

Fiberoptic bronchoscopy is an essential tool to avoid the risk of a failed extubation in neonates with difficult airway.

Management of the child's airway under anaesthesia: The French guidelines

OBJECTIVE

To provide French guidelines about "Airway management during paediatric anaesthesia".

DESIGN

A consensus committee of 17 experts from the French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine (Société Française d'Anesthésie-Réanimation, SFAR) and the Association of French speaking paediatric anaesthesiologists and intensivists (Association Des Anesthésistes Réanimateurs Pédiatriques d'Expression Francophone, ADARPEF) was convened. The entire process was conducted independently of any industry funding. The authors followed the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE®) system to assess the quality of evidence. The potential drawbacks of making strong recommendations in the presence of low-quality evidence were emphasised. Few recommendations were not graded.

METHODS

The panel focused on 7 questions: 1) Supraglottic Airway devices 2) Cuffed endotracheal tubes 3) Videolaryngoscopes 4) Neuromuscular blocking agents 5) Rapid sequence induction 6) Airway device removal 7) Airway management in the child with recent or ongoing upper respiratory tract infection. Population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) questions were reviewed and updated as needed, and evidence profiles were generated. The analysis of the literature and the redaction of the recommendations were then conducted according to the GRADE® methodology.

RESULTS

The SFAR Guideline panel provides 17 statements on "airway management during paediatric anaesthesia". After two rounds of discussion and various amendments, a strong agreement was reached for 100% of the recommendations. Of these recommendations, 6 have a high level of evidence (Grade 1 ± ), 6 have a low level of evidence (Grade 2 ± ) and 5 are experts' opinions. No recommendation could be provided for 3 questions.

CONCLUSIONS

Substantial agreement exists among experts regarding many strong recommendations for paediatric airway management.

Use of an Airway Exchange Catheter-Assisted Extubation With Continuous End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide Monitoring in a Pediatric Patient With a Known Difficult Airway: A Case Report

Tracheal extubation in children with known difficult airways is associated with an increased risk of adverse events. Currently, there is no reliable measure to predict the need for emergent reintubation due to airway inadequacy. Airway exchange catheter-assisted extubation has been shown to be a useful adjunct in decreasing the risk of adverse events due to failed extubation. We report a case of using an airway exchange catheter-assisted extubation with continuous end-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring for a pediatric patient with a known difficult airway.