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Tankard KA, Sharifpour M, Chang MG, Bittner EA. Design and Implementation of Airway Response Teams to Improve the Practice of Emergency Airway Management. J Clin Med 2022; 11:6336. [PMID: 36362564 PMCID: PMC9656324 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11216336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Revised: 10/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 09/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Emergency airway management (EAM) is a commonly performed procedure in the critical care setting. Despite clinical advances that help practitioners identify patients at risk for having a difficult airway, improved airway management tools, and algorithms that guide clinical decision-making, the practice of EAM is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Evidence suggests that a dedicated airway response team (ART) can help mitigate the risks associated with EAM and provide a framework for airway management in acute settings. We review the risks and challenges related to EAM and describe strategies to improve patient care and outcomes via implementation of an ART.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly A. Tankard
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Milad Sharifpour
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Smidt Heart Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Marvin G. Chang
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Edward A. Bittner
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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Walsh EC, Kwo J, Chang MG, Pino RM, Bittner EA. Rapid Expansion of the Airway Response Team to Meet the Needs of the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Healthc Qual 2021; 43:275-283. [PMID: 34009857 PMCID: PMC8407287 DOI: 10.1097/jhq.0000000000000304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented numbers of patients with acute respiratory distress to medical centers. Hospital systems require rapid adaptation to respond to the increased demand for airway management while ensuring high quality patient care and provider safety. There is limited literature detailing successful system-level approaches to adapt to the surge of COVID-19 patients requiring airway management. METHODS A deliberate system-level approach was used to expand a preexisting airway response service. Through a needs analysis (taking into account both existing resources and anticipated demands), we established priorities and solutions for the airway management challenges encountered during the pandemic. RESULTS During our COVID-19 surge (March 10, 2020, through May 26, 2020), there were 619 airway consults, and the COVID airway response team (CART) performed 341 intubations. Despite a 4-fold increase in intubations during the surge, there was no increase in cardiac arrests or surgical airways and no documented COVID-19 infections among the CART. CONCLUSIONS Our system-level approach successfully met the sudden escalation in demand in airway management incurred by the COVID-19 surge. The approach that addressed staffing needs prioritized provider protection and enhanced quality and safety monitoring may be adaptable to other institutions.
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Pellatt RAF, Bolot R, Sweeny AL, Gibbs C, O'Gorman J. Rural and Remote Intubations in an Australian Air Medical Retrieval Service: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Air Med J 2021; 40:251-258. [PMID: 34172233 DOI: 10.1016/j.amj.2021.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 03/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Critically unwell patients in rural and remote areas of Queensland, Australia, often require airway management with rapid sequence intubation before retrieval to a tertiary center. Retrieval Services Queensland coordinate retrievals and support rural hospitals, including via telehealth. This study compared the demographics of patients intubated by a retrieval team including a LifeFlight Retrieval Medicine doctor with those intubated by the local hospital team. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study of patients intubated in hospitals in Queensland, Australia, requiring subsequent air medical retrieval between January and December 2019. The data collected included the time of day, mission priority, geographic location, diagnosis, and failure/assistance with intubation. Descriptive statistics were complemented by regression analyses. RESULTS In 2019, 684 patients were intubated in hospitals in Queensland, Australia, requiring air medical retrieval by a team including a LifeFlight Retrieval Medicine doctor. One hundred thirty-one (19.2%) were intubated by the retrieval team, and 553 (80.8%) were intubated by the hospital team. In the most rural and remote areas, 64 (43.2%) of the patients were intubated by the retrieval team compared with 84 (56.8%) by the hospital team. CONCLUSION A retrieval team is more likely to intubate patients in remote hospitals in Queensland, Australia. Remote hospitals should be given preference for dispatch of the retrieval team for assistance with critical patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A F Pellatt
- Emergency Department, Gold Coast University Hospital, Southport, Queensland, Australia; LifeFlight Retrieval Medicine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia; Griffith University, Southport, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Renee Bolot
- LifeFlight Retrieval Medicine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Amy L Sweeny
- Emergency Department, Gold Coast University Hospital, Southport, Queensland, Australia; Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia; Griffith University, Southport, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - Clinton Gibbs
- Retrieval Services Queensland, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jacob O'Gorman
- LifeFlight Retrieval Medicine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Emergency Trauma Centre, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Emergency Department, Gladstone Hospital, Gladstone, Queensland, Australia; Royal Flying Doctor Service, Queensland Section, Brisbane, Australia
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Damrose JF, Eropkin W, Ng S, Cale S, Banerjee S. The Critical Response Team in Airway Emergencies. Perm J 2019; 23:18-219. [PMID: 31314732 DOI: 10.7812/tpp/18-219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Successful outcomes of airway emergencies (AEs) in the hospital depend on rapid recognition and intervention before patients become unstable. We describe our medical center's experience with a coordinated rapid response to AEs, including an illustrative case. This approach emphasizes early recognition of impending AEs and instantaneous activation of a team of specialists and operating room personnel to rapidly respond to AEs anywhere in our medical center.The literature on critical response teams for AEs is reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Serena Ng
- Anesthesiology, Fresno Medical Center, CA
| | - Sheik Cale
- Emergency Medicine, Fresno Medical Center, CA
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Arulkumaran N, McLaren CS, Arulkumaran K, Philips BJ, Cecconi M. An analysis of emergency tracheal intubations in critically ill patients by critical care trainees. J Intensive Care Soc 2018; 19:180-187. [PMID: 30159008 DOI: 10.1177/1751143717749686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction We evaluated intensive care medicine trainees' practice of emergency intubations in the United Kingdom. Methods Retrospective analysis of 881 in-hospital emergency intubations over a three-year period using an online trainee logbook. Results Emergency intubations out-of-hours were less frequent than in-hours, both on weekdays and weekends. Complications occurred in 9% of cases, with no association with time of day/day of week (p = 0.860). Complications were associated with higher Cormack and Lehane grades (p=0.004) and number of intubation attempts (p < 0.001), but not American Society of Anesthesiologist grade. Capnography usage was ≥99% in all locations except in wards (85%; p = 0.001). Ward patients were the oldest (p < 0.001), had higher American Society of Anesthesiologist grades (p < 0.001) and lowest Glasgow Coma Scale (p < 0.001). Conclusions Complications of intubations are associated with higher Cormack and Lehane grades and number of attempts, but not time of day/day of week. The uptake of capnography is reassuring, although there is scope for improvement on the ward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nishkantha Arulkumaran
- General Intensive Care Unit, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Charles S McLaren
- Intensive Care Medicine, Hillingdon Hospital Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | | | - Barbara J Philips
- General Intensive Care Unit, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Maurizio Cecconi
- General Intensive Care Unit, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
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Darby JM, Halenda G, Chou C, Quinlan JJ, Alarcon LH, Simmons RL. Emergency Surgical Airways Following Activation of a Difficult Airway Management Team in Hospitalized Critically Ill Patients: A Case Series. J Intensive Care Med 2016; 33:517-526. [PMID: 27899469 DOI: 10.1177/0885066616680594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION An emergency surgical airway (ESA) is widely recommended for securing the airway in critically ill patients who cannot be intubated or ventilated. Little is known of the frequency, clinical circumstances, management methods, and outcomes of hospitalized critically ill patients in whom ESA is performed outside the emergency department or operating room environments. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed all adult patients undergoing ESA in our intensive care units (ICUs) and other hospital units from 2008 to 2012 following activation of our difficult airway management team (DAMT). RESULTS Of 207 DAMT activations for native airway events, 22 (10.6%) events culminated in an ESA, with 59% of these events occurring in ICUs with the remainder outside the ICU in the context of rapid response team activations. Of patients undergoing ESA, 77% were male, 63% were obese, and 41% had a history of a difficult airway (DA). Failed planned or unplanned extubations preceded 61% of all ESA events in the ICUs, while bleeding from the upper or lower respiratory tract led to ESA in 44% of events occurring outside the ICU. Emergency surgical airway was the primary method of airway control in 3 (14%) patients, with the remainder of ESAs performed following failed attempts to intubate. Complications occurred in 68% of all ESAs and included bleeding (50%), multiple cannulation attempts (36%), and cardiopulmonary arrest (27%). Overall hospital mortality for patients undergoing ESA was 59%, with 38% of deaths occurring at the time of the airway event. CONCLUSION An ESA is required in approximately 10% of DA events in critically ill patients and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Efforts directed at early identification of patients with a difficult or challenging airway combined with a multidisciplinary team approach to management may reduce the overall frequency of ESA and associated complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M Darby
- 1 Department of Critical Care Medicine, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Gregory Halenda
- 2 Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Courtney Chou
- 3 Department of Otolaryngology, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Joseph J Quinlan
- 2 Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Louis H Alarcon
- 4 Department of Surgery, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Richard L Simmons
- 4 Department of Surgery, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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