Difficult Airway Response Team Research Articles

Institution of a difficult airway response team for emergency department patients with anticipated or encountered difficult airways: Descriptive analysis of a 5-year experience at an academic teaching hospital.

This study aimed to describe characteristics and outcomes associated with difficult airway response team (DART) encounters in the emergency department (ED). We performed a descriptive analysis of a prospective, single-center database of DART encounters in the ED from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2021 cross-referenced with retrospective chart review. Adult ED patients ≥18 years old for whom a DART was activated were eligible. We prospectively collected activation characteristics, intubation indications, operator characteristics, and intubation methods used for DART encounters. Retrospective chart review was conducted to obtain patient demographics and outcome variables. Descriptive analyses were computed for all outcomes. We analyzed 89 DART encounters. No intubation attempts were made prior to DART activation in 52 cases (58.4%). The most common indications for intubation were angioedema (n=17, 19.1%) or other airway obstruction (n=15, 16.9%). A definitive airway was established by anesthesiology (n=46, 51.7%), emergency medicine (n=25, 28.1%), trauma surgery (n=9, 10.1%), and ENT (n=5, 5.6%). The most common method of intubation used to establish a definitive airway was video laryngoscopy with a bougie or D-blade (n=29, 32.6%) followed by flexible fiberoptic intubation (n=19, 21.3%). A surgical airway was required in eight encounters (cricothyrotomy [n=4, 4.5%]; tracheostomy [n=4, 4.5%]). Cases were managed in the ED (n=73, 82%), operating room (OR) (n=10, 11.2%), and intensive care unit (ICU) (n=1, 1.1%). All patients requiring intubation had an endotracheal or surgical airway established. Our findings provide important insights regarding ED DART utilization and have implications when considering institution of a DART in the ED.

An analysis of a new rapid difficult airway response team in a vertically built children's hospital.

Intrahospital transport is associated with adverse events. This challenge is amplified during airway management. Although difficult airway response teams have been described, little attention has been paid to patient transport during difficult airway management versus the alternative of managing patient airways without moving the patient. This is especially needed in a 22-floor vertical hospital. Development of a rapid difficult airway response team and an associated difficult airway cart will allow for the ability to manage difficult airways in the patient's primary location. A retrospective chart review of all rapid difficult airway response activations from December 18, 2019 to December 31, 2021 was performed to determine the number of airways secured in the patient's primary location (primary outcome). Secondary outcomes included length of time until airway securement, airway device used, number of attempts, complications, use of front of neck access, and mortality. There were 96 rapid difficult airway response activations in a 2-year period, with 18 activations deemed inappropriate. Of the 78 indicated rapid difficult airway response deployments, all activations resulted in a secure airway, and 76 (97.4%) of cases had an airway secured in the patient's primary location. The mean time to airway securement was 17.1 min (standard deviation 18.8 min). The most common methods of airway securement were direct laryngoscopy (42.3%, 33/78) and video laryngoscopy (29.5%, 23/78). The mean number of attempts by the rapid difficult airway response team was 1.4. There were no documented cases requiring front of neck access. The Cormack-Lehane airway grade at time of intubation was I-II in 83.3% (65/78) of activations. Rapid difficult airway response activation resulted in 16 cases of cardiac arrest and 4 patient deaths within 48 h. A rapid difficult airway response team allows a large majority of patients' airways to be managed and secured in the patient's primary hospital location. Future directions include reducing time to airway securement and identifying factors associated with cardiac arrest.

Implementing an Interprofessional Difficult Airway Response Team to Identify and Manage High-Risk Airways.

To describe a multidisciplinary approach to and results from the creation of a difficult airway response team (DART) to address the management of inpatient loss of airway events. Description of an interprofessional process to establish and sustain a DART program at a tertiary care hospital. An Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective review of the quantitative results was conducted from November 2019 through March 2021. After establishing the existing processes for difficult airway management, a focus on "work as imagined" identified 4 pillars to address the goal for the project of bringing the right providers with the right equipment to the right patients at the right time through DART equipment carts, an expanded DART code team, a screening tool to identify patients with at-risk airways and unique messaging for DART code alerts. "Work as done" was assessed through simulations. Educational efforts included further simulations and group teaching. Sustainability was achieved through ongoing e-learning and bidirectional feedback. During the period of study, there were 40,752 patients admitted and 28,013 (69%) screens completed. At-risk airways were identified in 4282 admissions (11%), most commonly due to a history of a difficult airway (19%) and elevated body mass index (16%). The DART responded to 126 codes. There were no airway-related deaths or serious adverse events. A successful DART program was created, optimized, and sustained using components of interprofessional meetings, simulation, bidirectional feedback, and quantitative analysis. The techniques described can serve to guide groups who identify a quality improvement project that involves interactions between multiple stakeholders.

Difficult Airway Response Team (DART) and Airway Emergency Outcomes: A Retrospective Quality Improvement Study.

Difficult airways can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in the event of a delay in securing the airway. To improve the airway metrics at our institution, we implemented a multidisciplinary team of airway providers to respond to difficult and emergent airways, or the Difficult Airway Response Team (DART). The purpose of the present study is to assess the feasibility of a DART program at a tertiary care center. A retrospective study evaluating the outcomes of emergent airway cases using the DART protocol. Single tertiary academic care center. In August 2019, a DART program was implemented at a tertiary academic medical center. In order to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of this system, data were collected to assess DART outcomes through chart review and surveys following each event, and analyzed in Microsoft Excel. A total of 161 DART events (average 4.6/month) took place from August 2019 to June 2022. Anesthesiologists secured the airway in 71 events (51%), otolaryngologists in 38 (27%), and pulmonary/critical care in 12 (9%). Seventy-three activations were not labeled as a difficult airway. Pre-DART, 19 cases required more than 3 attempts to secure the airway compared to 11 cases after DART. Transoral intubation was the most common intervention. Thirteen cases required surgical intervention. Implementing a multidisciplinary team-based approach for managing emergent difficult airways at a tertiary care institution was feasible and resulted in a decreased number of airway attempts in difficult airway patients. Continuous process improvement is essential for the ongoing enhancement of DART systems.

Factors Associated With Pediatric Emergency Airway Management by the Difficult Airway Response Team.

BackgroundThe goal of this study was to determine if difficult airway risk factors were similar in children cared for by the difficult airway response team (DART) and those cared for by the rapid response team (RRT).MethodsIn this retrospective database analysis of prospectively collected data, we analyzed patient demographics, comorbidities, history of difficult intubation, and intubation event details, including time and place of the emergency and devices used to successfully secure the airway.ResultsWithin the 110-patient cohort, median age (IQR) was higher among DART patients than among RRT patients [8.5 years (0.9-14.6) versus 0.3 years (0.04-3.6); P < 0.001]. The odds of DART management were higher for children ages 1-2 years (aOR, 43.3; 95% CI: 2.73-684.3) and >5 years (aOR, 13.1; 95% CI: 1.85-93.4) than for those less than one-year-old. DART patients were more likely to have craniofacial abnormalities (aOR, 51.6; 95% CI: 2.50-1065.1), airway swelling (aOR, 240.1; 95% CI: 13.6-4237.2), or trauma (all DART managed). Among patients intubated by the DART, children with a history of difficult airway were more likely to have musculoskeletal (P = 0.04) and craniofacial abnormalities (P < 0.001), whereas children without a known history of difficult airway were more likely to have airway swelling (P = 0.04).ConclusionSpecific clinical risk factors predict the need for emergency airway management by the DART in the pediatric hospital setting. The coordinated use of a DART to respond to difficult airway emergencies may limit attempts at endotracheal tube placement and mitigate morbidity.

Difficult Airway Response Team - What Are the Anesthesiologist’s Roles in Improving the Safety of Airway Management in Outside Operating Theaters? -

Difficult Airway Response Team - What Are the Anesthesiologist’s Roles in Improving the Safety of Airway Management in Outside Operating Theaters? -

Managing COVID-19 from the epicenter: adaptations and suggestions based on experience.

In March 2020, the New York City metropolitan area became the epicenter of the United States’ SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the surge of new cases threatened to overwhelm the area’s hospital systems. This article describes how an anesthesiology department at a large urban academic hospital rapidly adapted and deployed to meet the threat head-on. Topics included are preparatory efforts, development of a team-based staffing model, and a new strategy for resource management. While still maintaining a fully functioning operating theater, discrete teams were deployed to both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 intensive care units, rapid response/airway management team, the difficult airway response team, and labor and delivery. Additional topics include the creation of a temporary ‘pop-up’ anesthesiology-run COVID-19 intensive care unit utilizing anesthesia machines for monitoring and ventilatory support as well as the development of a simulation and innovation team that was instrumental in the rapid prototyping of a controlled split-ventilation system and conversion of readily available BIPAP units into emergency ventilators. As the course of the disease is uncertain, the goal of this article is to assist others in preparation for what may come next with COVID-19 as well as potential future pandemics.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00540-020-02860-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Pediatric Difficult Airway Response Team Utilization in the Emergency Department: A Case Series.

A multidisciplinary pediatric difficult airway team was created at our institution to respond to hospital-wide airway emergencies. We report the characteristics, indications, and outcomes of these activations that occur in the pediatric emergency department (PED). Retrospective, single-center cohort study comprised all difficult airway team activations occurring in the PED from the program's inception in 2008 to 2018. Ages of ≤18 years were included. For each case, detailed information was abstracted, including patient factors, PED context and milieu, airway interventions, and airway outcomes. There were 15 difficult airway response team activations in the PED during the study period, or 1.4 activations per year. The most common indications for activation were contaminated airways (n = 7; 47%) and history of difficult intubation (n = 4; 27%). Definitive airway management was successful in all cases, except for a single case where intervention was unnecessary. The most commonly performed definitive airway intervention was direct laryngoscopy (n = 6; 40%). There were no instances of emergency front-of-neck access. Difficult airways in the PED were uncommon. Most cases were resolved with familiar equipment including direct laryngoscopy, video laryngoscopy, and supraglottic airways.

The Difficult Airway Response Team (DART): 18 months on

The Difficult Airway Response Team (DART): 18 months on

One Breath from Death: Difficult Airway Response Team Program for Survivors of failed/difficult airway management

One Breath from Death: Difficult Airway Response Team Program for Survivors of failed/difficult airway management

Evaluating Performance of Difficult Airway Response Team at Academic Center: Four Years in Review

Evaluating Performance of Difficult Airway Response Team at Academic Center: Four Years in Review

Timing and location of Difficult Airway Response Team events: implications for systems design

Timing and location of Difficult Airway Response Team events: implications for systems design

Development of a Multidisciplinary Pediatric Airway Program: An Institutional Experience.

Rapid response teams have become necessary components of patient care within the hospital community, including for airway management. Pediatric patients with an increased risk of having a difficult airway emergency can often be predicted on the basis of clinical scenarios and medical history. This predictability has led to the creation of airway consultation services designed to develop airway management plans for patients experiencing respiratory distress and who are at risk for having a difficult airway requiring advanced airway management. In addition, evolving technology has facilitated airway management outside of the operating suite. Training and continuing education on the use of these tools for airway management is imperative for clinicians responding to airway emergencies. We describe the comprehensive multidisciplinary, multicomponent Pediatric Difficult Airway Program we created that addresses each component identified above: the Pediatric Difficult Airway Response Team (PDART), the Pediatric Difficult Airway Consult Service, and the pediatric educational airway program. Approximately 41% of our PDART emergency calls occurred in the evening hours, requiring a specialized team ready to respond throughout the day and night. A multitude of devices were used during the calls, obviating the need for formal education and hands-on experience with these devices. Lastly, we observed that the majority of PDART calls occurred in patients who either were previously designated as having a difficult airway and/or had anatomic variations that suggest challenges during airway management. By instituting the Pediatric Difficult Airway Consult Service, we have decreased emergent Difficult Airway Response Team calls with the ultimate goal of first-attempt intubation success.

Characteristics and outcomes of patients requiring airway rescue by the difficult airway response team in the emergency department and wards: A retrospective study.

Objective:In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to determine the characteristics and outcomes of patients in the emergency department (ED) and wards who required emergency tracheal intubation by the difficult airway response team (DART).Materials and Methods:All patients between 18 and 80 years old receiving emergency tracheal intubation by the DART at a single tertiary referral hospital from January 2014 to December 2016 were reviewed and divided into ward and ED groups. Patient characteristics, comorbidities, indications for intubation, airway maintenance technique, and survival-to-discharge rates were analyzed and compared.Results:Totally, 192 patients (ward, n = 135; ED, n = 57) were eligible for the current study. Compared with the ward group, patients in the ED group were younger (58.9 ± 13 vs. 51.5 ± 15.6 years, P = 0.001), male-predominant (71.1% vs. 87.7%, P = 0.014), and had a higher incidence of trauma (6.7% vs. 22.8%, P = 0.001). The most common indications for tracheal intubation were respiratory distress (52.6%) and cardiac arrest (17.8%) in the ward group, and respiratory distress (31.6%) and airway protection (28.1%) in the ED group. Patients in the ED group received more fiberoptic intubations (42.1% vs. 17.8%, P = 0.039) and had a higher survival-to-discharge rate (87.7% vs. 44.4%, P < 0.001) than those in the ward group.Conclusions:Better recognition of differences in patient characteristics and indications for intubation in different units of the hospital may enable the DART to customize specialized equipment to improve efficiency and implement appropriate strategies for airway rescue to improve patient outcomes.

Every ENT anesthesia fellowship needs a simulation-based education program

Every ENT anesthesia fellowship needs a simulation-based education program

Multidisciplinary Difficult Airway Course: An Essential Educational Component of a Hospital-Wide Difficult Airway Response Program

A hospital-wide difficult airway response team was developed in 2008 at The Johns Hopkins Hospital with three central pillars: operations, safety monitoring, and education. The objective of this study was to assess the outcomes of the educational pillar of the difficult airway response team program, known as the multidisciplinary difficult airway course (MDAC). The comprehensive, full-day MDAC involves trainees and staff from all provider groups who participate in airway management. The MDAC occurs within the Johns Hopkins Medicine Simulation Center approximately four times per year and uses a combination of didactic lectures, hands-on sessions, and high-fidelity simulation training. Participation in MDAC is the main intervention being investigated in this study. Data were collected prospectively using course evaluation survey with quantitative and qualitative components, and prepost course knowledge assessment multiple choice questions (MCQ). Outcomes include course evaluation scores and themes derived from qualitative assessments, and prepost course knowledge assessment MCQ scores. Tertiary care academic hospital center PARTICIPANTS: Students, residents, fellows, and practicing physicians from the departments of Surgery, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine, and Emergency Medicine; advanced practice providers (nurse practitioners and physician assistants), nurse anesthetists, nurses, and respiratory therapists. Totally, 23 MDACs have been conducted, including 499 participants. Course evaluations were uniformly positive with mean score of 86.9 of 95 points. Qualitative responses suggest major value from high-fidelity simulation, the hands-on skill stations, and teamwork practice. MCQ scores demonstrated significant improvement: median (interquartile range) pre: 69% (60%-81%) vs post: 81% (72%-89%), p < 0.001. Implementation of a MDAC successfully disseminated principles and protocols to all airway providers. Demonstrable improvement in prepost course knowledge assessment and overwhelmingly positive course evaluations (quantitative and qualitative) suggest a critical and ongoing role for the MDAC course.

Abstract PR582

Case report: Background: A coordinated difficult airway (DA) management program at University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) was necessary to prevent harm and adverse outcomes from DA management outside of the operating room, since there were no sufficient resources available for DA management during the off-hours and out-of-OR locations. Our goals were to improve quality of difficult and emergency airway management at out-of-OR locations, organize paging system to systematize arrival of multiple experienced personnel, and decrease the time to mobilize equipment. The Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) Difficult Airway Response Team (DART) Program is multidisciplinary, comprehensive DA program that reported no airway management-related deaths, malpractice claims or sentinel events in their first 5 years. URMC adapted and implemented the JHM DART Program for the management of DA outside the operating room. Methods: DART Steering Committee was established and included representatives from five clinical departments, including anesthesiology, otolaryngology, trauma surgery, critical care and emergency medicine. DART Steering Committee met regularly over the course of three months to lay the groundwork for implementation of the DART Program. JHM DART Program Oversight Team provided guidance in adapting the JHM DART Program to align with resources at URMC. Efforts focused on: determining the composition of the team; developing criteria for summoning the team; establishing a unified telecommunications response system, developing a fully equipped DA carts, educating staff about the existence of DART and criteria for when to summon it. JHM DART Program formal consultation which included on-site visits, on-going conference calls, and sharing of DART Tool Box documents for URMC DART Program modification facilitated timeline for a comprehensive program. Results: URMC’s innovative members adapted the JHM DART Program within 3 months of initiating this project. URMC DART Team was established and implemented with providers from five departments and DART Policy was accepted with instructions about DART activation, equipment delivery, and providers’ responsibility. Educational component of DART Program, Multidisciplinary Difficult Airway Course, was implemented for senior residents and fellows from five DART Departments targeting 100% participation. Conclusion: Implementation or the DART Program at URMC established the team which is capable of delivering the highest-quality and safest patient-centered care during difficult airway management at our institution. First year URMC results will be analyzed and collaborative lessons learned will be shared with providers wanting to adapt a DART Program to their institution. Disclosure of Interest: None declared

Difficult airway response team: a novel quality improvement program for managing hospital-wide airway emergencies.

Difficult airway cases can quickly become emergencies, increasing the risk of life-threatening complications or death. Emergency airway management outside the operating room is particularly challenging. We developed a quality improvement program-the Difficult Airway Response Team (DART)-to improve emergency airway management outside the operating room. DART was implemented by a team of anesthesiologists, otolaryngologists, trauma surgeons, emergency medicine physicians, and risk managers in 2005 at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The DART program had 3 core components: operations, safety, and education. The operations component focused on developing a multidisciplinary difficult airway response team, standardizing the emergency response process, and deploying difficult airway equipment carts throughout the hospital. The safety component focused on real-time monitoring of DART activations and learning from past DART events to continuously improve system-level performance. This objective entailed monitoring the paging system, reporting difficult airway events and DART activations to a Web-based registry, and using in situ simulations to identify and mitigate defects in the emergency airway management process. The educational component included development of a multispecialty difficult airway curriculum encompassing case-based lectures, simulation, and team building/communication to ensure consistency of care. Educational materials were also developed for non-DART staff and patients to inform them about the needs of patients with difficult airways and ensure continuity of care with other providers after discharge. Between July 2008 and June 2013, DART managed 360 adult difficult airway events comprising 8% of all code activations. Predisposing patient factors included body mass index >40, history of head and neck tumor, prior difficult intubation, cervical spine injury, airway edema, airway bleeding, and previous or current tracheostomy. Twenty-three patients (6%) required emergent surgical airways. Sixty-two patients (17%) were stabilized and transported to the operating room for definitive airway management. There were no airway management-related deaths, sentinel events, or malpractice claims in adult patients managed by DART. Five in situ simulations conducted in the first program year improved DART's teamwork, communication, and response times and increased the functionality of the difficult airway carts. Over the 5-year period, we conducted 18 airway courses, through which >200 providers were trained. DART is a comprehensive program for improving difficult airway management. Future studies will examine the comparative effectiveness of the DART program and evaluate how DART has impacted patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and costs of care.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Multidisciplinary Difficult Airway Response Team

1) Operations To coordinate resources to make airway experts, information, and equipment immediately available for the management of difficult airways. Current operations resources include: -Expert personnel – OHNS, Anesthesiology, Trauma surgery, ED, OR, ICU staff -Infrastructure of existing emergency response teams -Eleven standardized Adult Emergency Airway carts (Figure 1) -Multiple communication methods – Paging system, Single DART #, Hopkins Access Line -Data management/reporting tools – ACCM Quality Assurance encounter reporting, EMR difficult airway alerts, Patient ID band