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 factor, 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.

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

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 factor, 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.

Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication with Baska Mask® laryngeal mask

Tracheal intubation has historically been considered the ideal technique to handle the airway in laparoscopic surgical procedures. The introduction of such procedures in ambulatory surgery requires the use of anesthetic techniques that offer optimal and early postoperative recovery under strict security conditions. Laryngeal mask is proposed as a suitable alternative to tracheal intubation, even in high risk patients due to new devices which have been modified to improve their characteristics, becoming great alternatives in the overall management of the airway. We report the first case of laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication performed with a laryngeal Baska Mask in patient with high risk of regurgitation due to its gastroesophageal reflux.

[Rare problem with the insertion of a Supreme™ laryngeal mask airway device. Case of the trimester]

A breast tumor was resected under general anesthesia. After induction, the airway was managed with a Supreme™ laryngeal mask airway device. The insertion of the laryngeal mask airway device, the insertion of the orogastric tube through the drain tube, as well as the mechanical ventilation, were very difficult from the beginning. On removing the laryngeal mask airway device to solve the problem, it was observed that the drain tube was broken, and the orogastric tube had passed into the anterior, laryngeal part of the device through the split. It was later found out that the laryngeal mask airway device, as well as the whole manufacturing batch, had suffered a design modification: the cuff was constructed with a softer material without reinforcement in the tip, and the drain tube had a heat-sealing defect that facilitated the break. The incident was reported to the local supplier and the manufacturer, and the defective batch of laryngeal mask airway devices was recalled. The incident was also reported to other hospitals via SENSAR, to warn other users of the potential dangers of the design modification in the Supreme™ laryngeal mask airway.