Markers of Difficult Ventilation with a Supraglottic Airway Device

Calvin A. Brown, III, MD   In large study of Southeast Asian patients, risk factors for difficult or failed ventilation with an SGA were short thyromental distance, cervical spine immobility, male sex, and age over 45.   Risk factors for difficult bag‐and‐mask ventilation have been well validated, but less is known about risk factors for difficult... Read more..

June 2015 Quarterly Airway Management Research Update

Originally presented as a live webinar, Dr. Calvin A. Brown, III uses case discussions to introduce the latest published airway research and discusses their impact on clinical practice. Read more..

Two Trials Support High-Flow Oxygen Use in Patients with Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure

Patricia Kritek, MD   In one trial, intubation rates were similar to those of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation, and 90‐day mortality was lower.   Use of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations and cardiogenic pulmonary edema is well established, but its value in treating patients with hypoxemic respiratory... Read more..

Rise in Video Laryngoscopy Has Not Affected Rates of Awake Intubation

Calvin A. Brown, III, MD   In this retrospective review at a single center use of video laryngoscopy increased significantly over time, but the rate of awake intubation remained constant.   Awake intubation is used when glottic visualization with a laryngoscope and rescue mask ventilation are anticipated to be significantly difficult. It involves the use... Read more..

Supplemental Oxygen is Not Needed for STEMI Patients with Normal Oxygen Saturations

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP   Outcomes were either similar or worse for STEMI patients given supplemental oxygen, compared with those who maintained a saturation ≥94% on their own.   Supplemental oxygen likely provides no benefit to — and may even harm — patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or other causes of dyspnea... Read more..

Trainees Using Video Laryngoscopy Are Less Likely to End Up in the Esophagus

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP   The odds of an emergency medicine resident intubating a patient's esophagus were nearly 7 times higher with direct, rather than video, laryngoscopy.   While video laryngoscopy results in consistently improved glottic views compared with direct laryngoscopy, its benefits in terms of intubation success may be mitigated... Read more..

Intubation vs. Supraglottic Airway for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Daniel M. Lindberg, MD   Endotracheal intubation had a small but consistent benefit across several outcomes in this systematic review of observational studies.   While quality advanced life support can certainly be critical for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, there is no robust evidence that early intubation improves outcomes, and many prehospital providers have... Read more..