Project for Universal Management of Airways - part 1: concept and methods

From Brobdingnag to Lilliput: Gulliver's travels in airway management guidelines

Neonatal airway management comes with exclusive anatomical, physiological, and environmental complexities, and probably higher incidences of accidents and complications. No dedicated airway management guidelines were available until the recently published first joint guideline released by a task force supported by the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and the British Journal of Anaesthesia and focused on airway management in children under 1 yr of age. The guideline offers a series of recommendations based on meticulous methodology including multiple Delphi rounds to complement the sparse and scarce available evidence. Getting back from Brobdingnag, the land of giants with many guidelines available, this guideline represents a foundational cornerstone in the land of Lilliput.

Preventing unrecognised oesophageal intubation

Major harm from unrecognised oesophageal intubation continues, despite the 2018 Royal College of Anaesthetists' 'no trace, wrong place' campaign. It is likely that publicly reported cases represent a fraction of real occurrences. This article summarises a 2022 consensus guideline on the prevention of unrecognised oesophageal intubation from the Project for Universal Management of Airway and international airway societies. The guideline is written for all airway operators and assistants, in any clinical setting, and readers are advised to deepen their understanding by studying the original guideline. The recommendations include how to avoid and recognise oesophageal intubation as well as a set of logical actions to take when it is a plausible possibility, even if it is not suspected. The guideline emphasises the importance of videolaryngoscopy, capnography and oxygen saturation monitoring for all tracheal intubations, wherever performed. It introduces the concept of sustained exhaled carbon dioxide, which is central to identifying oesophageal intubation, and acting to prevent progression to unrecognised oesophageal intubation. In the absence of sustained exhaled carbon dioxide, the default action is to remove the tube. This will mean some tracheal placed tubes are removed but based on a risk-benefit analysis, this is desirable. The tube should only be left in place if there is clear danger in removing it and in this event, its position should be confirmed, using repeat videolaryngoscopy plus one other of bronchoscopy, skilled ultrasound or use of an oesophageal detector device. The importance of human factors is underlined; for instance, the value of a shared and vocalised report of videolaryngoscopy view and trained assistants working with the operator to confirm whether the criteria for sustained exhaled carbon dioxide are met, to minimise error and improve team working.

Preventing unrecognised oesophageal intubation: a consensus guideline from the Project for Universal Management of Airways and international airway societies

Across multiple disciplines undertaking airway management globally, preventable episodes of unrecognised oesophageal intubation result in profound hypoxaemia, brain injury and death. These events occur in the hands of both inexperienced and experienced practitioners. Current evidence shows that unrecognised oesophageal intubation occurs sufficiently frequently to be a major concern and to merit a co-ordinated approach to address it. Harm from unrecognised oesophageal intubation is avoidable through reducing the rate of oesophageal intubation, combined with prompt detection and immediate action when it occurs. The detection of 'sustained exhaled carbon dioxide' using waveform capnography is the mainstay for excluding oesophageal placement of an intended tracheal tube. Tube removal should be the default response when sustained exhaled carbon dioxide cannot be detected. If default tube removal is considered dangerous, urgent exclusion of oesophageal intubation using valid alternative techniques is indicated, in parallel with evaluation of other causes of inability to detect carbon dioxide. The tube should be removed if timely restoration of sustained exhaled carbon dioxide cannot be achieved. In addition to technical interventions, strategies are required to address cognitive biases and the deterioration of individual and team performance in stressful situations, to which all practitioners are vulnerable. These guidelines provide recommendations for preventing unrecognised oesophageal intubation that are relevant to all airway practitioners independent of geography, clinical location, discipline or patient type.

Tracheal Intubation in Emergency Departments in China: A National Cross-Sectional Survey

Background

Tracheal intubation is a necessary but risky procedure performed in emergency departments (EDs) around the world. Relatively high morbidity has been encountered in Chinese EDs, which has raised concerns about peri-intubation ED management. This study aimed to investigate intubation procedures and identify any areas for improvement in Chinese EDs.

Methods

This was a questionnaire-based survey lasting 1 month (March 2021) in 41 tertiary-care hospital EDs in mainland China. The primary outcome was complications associated with intubation. Secondary outcomes were the first-pass success rate and blood pressure variations during intubation. Univariate and binary logistic regression analyses were used to find possible risk factors for first-pass intubation failure.

Results

In total, 1,020 replies were analyzed out of 1,080 surveys submitted (94.4% response rate). Most patients were elderly men with severe medical conditions like cardiac arrest (24.8%). In total, 97.2% of patients were given preoxygenation, and 48.1% received some form of pretreatment. Induction drugs (e.g., etomidate and ketamine) were less often used: 39.9% of intubations used sedatives, 5.5% used analgesics, and only 5.3% used muscle relaxants. The overall first-pass intubation success rate was 85.7% and was accompanied by a 19.8% adverse event rate. A marked decrease in blood pressure after intubation was also identified.

Conclusion

This survey found an 85.7% tracheal intubation first-pass success rate (which is relatively high compared to other countries) and a 19.8% adverse event rate (which is also relatively high). Given the very low rate of using induction medications (5.3% used muscle relaxants), future education should focus on induction drugs and traditional intubation techniques.

Capnography use in the critical care setting: why do clinicians fail to implement this safety measure?

Tracheal intubation is among the most frequently performed manoeuvres in the critical care setting, and can be life-saving in critical illness, though also associated with serious adverse events such as oesophageal intubation or tracheal tube obstruction, displacement, or disconnection from the ventilator. A key finding of the 4th National Audit Project (NAP4) was identification of waveform capnography as the single intervention with the highest potential for reducing morbidity and mortality during tracheal intubation and maintenance of an artificial airway. In the INTUBE study, penetration of capnography into ICUs was low, and was not in use in 70% of the episodes of oesophageal intubation. To reduce harm and avoidable death, there is a need for a global initiative to increase access to and use of capnography in ICUs.