Category Archives: Airway management

RSI AND PERMISSIVE HYPOTENSION

Posted on May 8, 2013 by K

A study in Injury looks at what happens to our patients´ blood pressures when we do rapid sequence inductions for intubation. With all the talk of ´permissive hypotension´  in modern trauma management this could be important.

Posted in Airway management, Emergency Medicine, Prehospital Medicine | 2 Comments

NASAL PRONG ETCO2

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Thomas D

Monitoring sedated patients without airway devices in place is often based on the time machine, the pulse oximeter, showing you what the patient’s oxygen saturation in the lungs were 30 seconds ago. Also, it doesn’t tell you if the patient … Continue reading →

Posted in Airway management, Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine | 8 Comments

OFFICER, YOU´RE STANDING ON A FOREIGN INVASIVE OBJECT!

Posted on January 14, 2013 by K

Prehospital emergent intubations are messy affairs. There are the risks inherent to intubating a critically ill patient where vomit, blood and secretions risk blocking your laryngoscopy view or risk contaminating the patients airway. The fact that you are performing an … Continue reading →

Posted in Airway management, Prehospital Medicine | 1 Comment

ΔK

Posted on October 20, 2012 by K

A study in Anesthesia & Analgesia reminds us of why intubating some intensive care patients with succinylcholine can be a bad idea. It demonstrates how the potentially harmful potassium efflux and transient hyperkalemia we get after administering Succinylcholine increases in … Continue reading →

Posted in Airway management, Intensive Care, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

SGAS HARM IN OHCA?

Posted on October 2, 2012 by K

A secondary study using data from the ROC PRIMED study suggests there could be something to the warnings about using supraglottic airways (LMAs) for airways in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Supraglottic airways were associated with increased mortality.

Posted in Airway management, Cardiology, CPR, Emergency Medicine, Prehospital Medicine | 5 Comments

TRACHEAL FLAPS AFTER TRACHEOSTOMIES

Posted on June 18, 2012 by K

In Anesthesiology june 2012 there is a case report describing a rare complication after tracheostomy. It describes the creation of an obstructing mucosal flap as sequele after a percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy. As long as the patient was cannulated the flap … Continue reading →

Posted in Airway management, Intensive Care | Leave a comment

THE 1959 FRUMIN STUDY

Posted on May 8, 2012 by K

The 1959 Frumin study on apneic oxygenation is a classic. It is an elegant demonstration of apnoeic oxygenation. Ie how patients can maintain oxygenation despite total apnea. Elegant, but I’m not so sure the ethical committees that are available to … Continue reading →

Posted in Airway management, Anesthesia | Leave a comment

SUCCINYLCHOLINE NOT RELIABLE

Posted on May 4, 2012 by K

We use succinylcholine in RSI is for the Cannot-Intubate cannot-ventilato scenarios, where we expect the patients’ spontaneous ventilation to recover before we get in serious trouble. A study by Heier from Anesthesiology 2001 demonstrates how that is not the case. … Continue reading →

Posted in Airway management, Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine | Leave a comment

PHEE-L-EFF PHAVES PHEEPH

Posted on April 26, 2012 by K

Dental injuries are responsible for the majority of malpractice claims against anaesthetists. In order to get around that, I am more and more inclined to use video laryngoscopes or fibre optics, when intubating patients with really bad teeth. A small study … Continue reading →

Posted in Airway management, Anesthesia | Leave a comment

UPDATE – KEPLER GOES LIVE

Posted on April 20, 2012 by K

In a previous post we discussed the robotic Kepler intubation system. We thought it was a cool concept, but didn’t really believe anyone would put it to use on human subjects any time soon. Well, they already did. In BJA … Continue reading →

Posted in Airway management, Anesthesia | 4 Comments