Supraglottic airway devices as a strategy for unassisted tracheal intubation: A network meta-analysis

Spanish Society of Anesthesiology, Reanimation and Pain Therapy (SEDAR), Spanish Society of Emergency and Emergency Medicine (SEMES) and Spanish Society of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (SEORL-CCC) Guideline for difficult airway management. Part II

The Airway Management section of the Spanish Society of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation, and Pain Therapy (SEDAR), the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES), and the Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (SEORL-CCC) present the Guide for the comprehensive management of difficult airway in adult patients. Its principles are focused on the human factors, cognitive processes for decision-making in critical situations, and optimization in the progression of strategies application to preserve adequate alveolar oxygenation in order to enhance safety and the quality of care. The document provides evidence-based recommendations, theoretical-educational tools, and implementation tools, mainly cognitive aids, applicable to airway management in the fields of anesthesiology, critical care, emergencies, and prehospital medicine. For this purpose, an extensive literature search was conducted following PRISMA-R guidelines and was analyzed using the GRADE methodology. Recommendations were formulated according to the GRADE methodology. Recommendations for sections with low-quality evidence were based on expert opinion through consensus reached via a Delphi questionnaire.

Intention-to-treat versus as-treated versus per-protocol approaches to analysis

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the most rigorous study design for testing hypotheses and the gold standard for evaluating intervention effectiveness. However, RCTs are often conducted under the assumption of ideal conditions that may differ from real-world scenarios in which various issues, such as loss to follow-up, mistakes in participant enrollment or intervention, and low subject compliance or adherence, may occur. There are various group-defining strategies for analyzing RCT data, including the intention-to-treat (ITT), as-treated, and per-protocol (PP) approaches. The ITT principle involves analyzing all participants according to their initial group assignments, regardless of study completion and compliance or adherence to treatment protocols. This approach aims to replicate real-world clinical settings in which several anticipated or unexpected conditions may occur with regard to the study protocol. For the PP approach, only participants who meet the inclusion criteria, complete the interventions according to the study protocols, and have primary outcome data available are included. This approach aims to confirm treatment effects under optimal conditions. In general, the ITT principle is preferred for superiority and inequality trials, whereas the PP approach is preferred for equivalence and non-inferiority trials. However, both analytical approaches should be conducted and their results compared to determine whether significant differences exist. Overall, using both the ITT and PP approaches can provide a more complete picture of the treatment effects and ensure the reliability of the trial results.

Rapid Sequence Airway with the Intubating Laryngeal Mask in the Emergency Department

BACKGROUND

The administration of sedation and neuromuscular blockade to facilitate extraglottic device (EGD) placement is known as rapid sequence airway (RSA). In the emergency department (ED), EGDs are used largely as rescue devices. In select patients, there may be significant advantages to using EGDs over laryngoscopy as the primary airway device in the ED.

OBJECTIVE

Our study sought to describe the practice of RSA in the ED, including rates of successful oxygenation, ventilation, and complications from EGD use.

METHODS

We identified patients in the ED between 2007 and 2017 who underwent RSA with the LMA® Fastrach™ (hereafter termed ILMA; Teleflex Medical Europe Ltd., Athlone, Ireland) placed as the first definitive airway management device. A trained abstractor performed chart and video review of the cases to determine patient characteristics, physician use of the ILMA, indication for ILMA placement, success of oxygenation and ventilation, success of intubation, and complications related to the device.

RESULTS

During the study period, 94 patients underwent RSA with the ILMA. Of those, 93 (99%) were successfully oxygenated and ventilated, and when intubation was attempted, 89% were able to be intubated through the ILMA. The incidence of vomiting and aspiration was 1% and 3%, respectively. There were 30 different attending physicians who supervised RSA and the median number was 2 per physician in the 10-year study period.

CONCLUSION

The practice of RSA with the ILMA in the ED is associated with a high rate of successful oxygenation, ventilation, and intubation with infrequent complications, even when performed by physicians with few experiences in the approach.

Intubating Through Supraglottic Airway Devices: A Narrative Review

Implication Statement: Despite the increasing popularity of video laryngoscopes, the supraglottic airway device (SAD) remains a critical airway rescue tool. The SAD provides a conduit for tracheal intubation in failed laryngoscopy. This article aims to help the operator: (1) select an intubating SAD with consistent performance; (2) inform the appropriate SAD-endotracheal tube pairings; and (3) explain various SAD and endotracheal tube maneuvers available to increase chances of successful intubation. Objectives: The first supraglottic airway device (SAD) was introduced more than thirty years ago. Since then, SADs have undergone multiple iterations and improvements. The SAD remains an airway rescue device for ventilation and an intubation conduit on difficult airway algorithms. Data Sources: Several SADs are specifically designed to facilitate tracheal intubation, i.e., “intubating SADs,” while most are “non-intubating SADs.” The two most commonly reported tracheal intubation methods via the SADs are the blind and visualized passage of the endotracheal tube (ETT) preloaded on a fiberoptic scope. Fiberoptic guided tracheal intubation (FOI) via an intubating SAD generally has higher success rates than blind intubations and is thus preferred. However, fiberscopes might not always be readily available, and anesthesiologists should be skilled to successfully intubate blindly through a SAD. Summery: This narrative review describes intubating SAD with consistent performance, appropriate SAD-ETT pairings, and various SAD and ETT maneuvers to increase successful intubation chances.