Prehospital Airway Research Articles

Prehospital Airway Management: A Systematic Review

Objective: To assess comparative benefits and harms across three airway management approaches (bag valve mask [BVM], supraglottic airway [SGA], and endotracheal intubation [ETI]) used by prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) to treat patients with trauma, cardiac arrest, or medical emergencies, and how they differ based on techniques and devices, EMS personnel and patient characteristics. Data sources: We searched electronic citation databases (Ovid® MEDLINE®, CINAHL®, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Scopus®) from 1990 to September 2020. Review methods: We followed Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Effective Health Care Program Methods guidance. Outcomes included mortality, neurological function, return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and successful advanced airway insertion. Meta-analyses using profile-likelihood random effects models were conducted, with analyses stratified by study design, emergency type, and age. Results: We included 99 studies involving 630,397 patients. We found few differences in primary outcomes across airway management approaches. For survival, there was no difference for BVM versus ETI or SGA in adult and pediatric patients with cardiac arrest or trauma. For neurological function, there was no difference for BVM versus ETI and SGA versus ETI in pediatric patients with cardiac arrest. There was no difference in BVM versus ETI in adults with cardiac arrest, but improved neurological function with BVM or ETI versus SGA. There was no difference in ROSC for patients with cardiac arrest for BVM versus ETI or SGA in adults and pediatrics, or SGA versus ETI in pediatrics. There was higher frequency of ROSC in adults with SGA versus ETI. For successful advanced airway insertion, there was higher first-pass success with SGA versus ETI for all patients except adult medical patients (no difference), and no difference in overall success using SGA versus ETI in adults. Conclusions: The currently available evidence does not indicate benefits of more invasive airway approaches based on survival, neurological function, ROSC, or successful airway insertion. Strength of evidence was low or moderate; most included studies were observational. This supports the need for high-quality randomized controlled trials to advance clinical practice and EMS education and policy, and improve patient-centered outcomes.

Neurological outcomes associated with prehospital advanced airway management in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to foreign body airway obstruction

ObjectivesSeveral studies have examined the association between advanced airway management (AAM) and survival for arrest that is non-shockable, noncardiac in origin, or due to suffocation; however, the efficacy of prehospital AAM compared with no AAM following foreign body removal by emergency medical services (EMS) has not been examined. We aimed to compare neurological outcomes in patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) due to foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO) managed with and without AAM after foreign body removal. MethodsThis retrospective observational cohort study used all emergency transportation data of Japan and the All-Japan Utstein Registry. We included patients with OHCA aged ≥18 years undergoing resuscitation and removal of airway foreign bodies by EMS from January 2015 to December 2017. The exposure of interest was prehospital AAM by EMS after foreign body removal, and the primary outcome was a favorable neurological outcome at hospital discharge (i.e., a cerebral performance category of 1–2). ResultsOverall, 329,098 adults had OHCAs and 23,060 had foreign bodies removed from their airways; 3681 adult patients met our eligibility criteria and were divided as: AAM (2045) and non-AAM (1636) groups. Propensity score matching resulted in 1210 matched pairs with balanced baseline characteristics between the groups. The rate of favorable neurological outcome was significantly lower in the AAM group than in the non-AAM group (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.19–0.62). However, survival was not significantly different between the two groups (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.84–1.37). ConclusionsWe have not demonstrated the benefit of AAM for patients with OHCA due to FBAO. Further study will be required to confirm the efficacy of AAM for those patients.

Critical Factors in Planning a Pediatric Prehospital Airway Trial

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess factors influencing the design of a pediatric prehospital airway management trial, including minimum clinically significant differences for three clinical subgroups. Methods: We conducted a virtual consensus-conference among U.S. emergency medical services (EMS) agency medical directors and researchers in the Fall of 2020. This included (1) a preconference survey, (2) an interactive live videoconference, and (3) a postconference survey. Participants were identified through co-investigator relationships and by surveying “The Eagles,” a consortium of medical directors from large urban EMS systems and, subsequently, through follow up email contact based on survey responses. Results: Twenty-seven of the 34 (80%) EMS agencies we invited responded to the prewebinar survey. Of the 27 agencies, 27 (100%) use BMV, 19 (70%) use endotracheal intubation (ETI), 21 (78%) use supraglottic airways (SGA). SGA use included 14 (52%) who use the iGel, 8 (30%) who use the King laryngeal tube (LT), and 2 (7%) who use a laryngeal mask airway (LMA). Three agencies use more than one of the available SGAs. Twenty (74%) of the EMS agencies indicated they had access to an SGA suitable for pediatric patients, and 9 (33%) agencies have access to pediatric video laryngoscopy. The majority of agencies indicated that the minimum clinically significant difference for survival to change practice was 1% for cardiac arrest patients with a baseline survival assumption of 7%, 4% for respiratory failure with a baseline survival assumption of 73%, and 3% for trauma with a baseline survival assumption of 42%. Overall, these agencies responded that BVM vs. SGA is the most important comparison that would change their practice. Conclusions: This virtual consensus conference provided a new perspective on current airway management practice and identified specific factors likely to drive change in pediatric prehospital airway management. This information will be leveraged in future trial design to ensure impactful clinical trials.

An Analysis of Airway Interventions in the Setting of Smoke Inhalation Injury on the Battlefield.

The Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care and Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate cite airway burn injuries as an indication for prehospital cricothyrotomy. We sought to build on previously published data by describing for the first time the incidence of prehospital airway interventions in combat casualties who received airway management in the setting of inhalational injuries.15,26 We hypothesized that (1) airway interventions in combat casualties who suffered inhalational injury would have a higher mortality rate than those without airway intervention and (2) prehospital cricothyrotomy was used with greater incidence than endotracheal intubation. Using a previously described Department of Defense Trauma Registry dataset from January 2007 to August 2016, unique casualties with documented inhalational injury were identified. Our predefined search codes captured 28,222 (72.8% of all encounters in the registry) of those subjects. A total of 347 (1.2%) casualties had a documented inhalational injury, 27 (7.8%) of those with at least 1 prehospital airway intervention inhalational injuries (0.09% of our dataset [n = 28,222]). Within the subset of patients with an inhalation injury, 23 underwent intubation, 2 underwent cricothyrotomy, 3 had placement of an airway adjunct not otherwise specifically listed, and 1 casualty had both a cricothyrotomy and intubation documented. No casualties had a supraglottic, nasopharyngeal, or oropharyngeal airway listed. Contrary to our hypotheses, of those with an airway intervention, 74.0% survived to hospital discharge. In multivariable regression models, when adjusting for confounders, there was no difference in survival to discharge in those with an airway intervention compared to those without. Casualties undergoing airway intervention for inhalation injuries had similar survival adjusting for injury severity, supporting its role when indicated. Without case-specific data on airway status and interventions, it is challenging to determine if the low rate of cricothyrotomy in this population was a result of rapid transport to a more advanced provider capable of performing intubation or cricothyrotomy may not be meeting the needs of the medics.

Prehospital continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for acute respiratory distress: a randomised controlled trial

ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) versus usual care for prehospital patients with severe respiratory distress.MethodsWe conducted a parallel group, individual patient, non-blinded randomised controlled trial...

Impact of videolaryngoscopy introduction into prehospital emergency medicine practice: a quality improvement project

IntroductionAdvanced airway management is necessary in the prehospital environment and difficult airways occur more commonly in this setting. Failed intubation is closely associated with the most devastating complications of airway...

Prehospital continuous positive airway pressure for acute respiratory failure: the ACUTE feasibility RCT.

Acute respiratory failure is a life-threatening emergency. Standard prehospital management involves controlled oxygen therapy. Continuous positive airway pressure is a potentially beneficial alternative treatment; however, it is uncertain whether or not this treatment could improve outcomes in NHS ambulance services. To assess the feasibility of a large-scale pragmatic trial and to update an existing economic model to determine cost-effectiveness and the value of further research. (1) An open-label, individual patient randomised controlled external pilot trial. (2) Cost-effectiveness and value-of-information analyses, updating an existing economic model. (3) Ancillary substudies, comprising an acute respiratory failure incidence study, an acute respiratory failure diagnostic agreement study, clinicians perceptions of a continuous positive airway pressure mixed-methods study and an investigation of allocation concealment. Four West Midlands Ambulance Service hubs, recruiting between August 2017 and July 2018. Adults with respiratory distress and peripheral oxygen saturations below the British Thoracic Society's target levels were included. Patients with limited potential to benefit from, or with contraindications to, continuous positive airway pressure were excluded. Prehospital continuous positive airway pressure (O-Two system, O-Two Medical Technologies Inc., Brampton, ON, Canada) was compared with standard oxygen therapy, titrated to the British Thoracic Society's peripheral oxygen saturation targets. Interventions were provided in identical sealed boxes. Feasibility objectives estimated the incidence of eligible patients, the proportion recruited and allocated to treatment appropriately, adherence to allocated treatment, and retention and data completeness. The primary clinical end point was 30-day mortality. Seventy-seven patients were enrolled (target 120 patients), including seven patients with a diagnosis for which continuous positive airway pressure could be ineffective or harmful. Continuous positive airway pressure was fully delivered to 74% of participants (target 75%). There were no major protocol violations/non-compliances. Full data were available for all key outcomes (target ≥ 90%). Thirty-day mortality was 27.3%. Of the 21 deceased participants, 14 (68%) either did not have a respiratory condition or had ceiling-of-treatment decision implemented that excluded hospital non-invasive ventilation and critical care. The base-case economic evaluation indicated that standard oxygen therapy was probably cost-effective (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio £5685 per quality-adjusted life-year), but there was considerable uncertainty (population expected value of perfect information of £16.5M). Expected value of partial perfect information analyses indicated that effectiveness of prehospital continuous positive airway pressure was the only important variable. The incidence rate of acute respiratory failure was 17.4 (95% confidence interval 16.3 to 18.5) per 100,000 persons per year. There was moderate agreement between the primary prehospital and final hospital diagnoses (Gwet's AC1 coefficient 0.56, 95% confidence interval 0.43 to 0.69). Lack of hospital awareness of the Ambulance continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP): Use, Treatment Effect and economics (ACUTE) trial, limited time to complete trial training and a desire to provide continuous positive airway pressure treatment were highlighted as key challenges by participating clinicians. During week 10 of recruitment, the continuous positive airway pressure arm equipment boxes developed a 'rattle'. After repackaging and redistribution, no further concerns were noted. A total of 41.4% of ambulance service clinicians not participating in the ACUTE trial indicated a difference between the control and the intervention arm trial boxes (115/278); of these clinician 70.4% correctly identified box contents. Recruitment rate was below target and feasibility was not demonstrated. The economic evaluation results suggested that a definitive trial could represent value for money. However, limited compliance with continuous positive airway pressure and difficulty in identifying patients who could benefit from continuous positive airway pressure indicate that prehospital continuous positive airway pressure is unlikely to materially reduce mortality. A definitive clinical effectiveness trial of continuous positive airway pressure in the NHS is not recommended. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN12048261. This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 25, No. 7. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Duration of exposure to a prehospital advanced airway and neurological outcome for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A retrospective cohort study

BackgroundOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) studies have focused on the benefits and harms of placing an intra-arrest advanced airway, but few studies have evaluated the benefits and harms after successful placement. We hypothesize that increased time in the tumultuous prehospital environment after intra-arrest advanced airway placement results in reduced patient survival. MethodsThis was a secondary analysis of adult, non-traumatic, OHCA patients with an advanced airway placed in the PRIMED trial. The exposure variable was the time interval between successful advanced airway placement and Emergency Department (ED) arrival. The outcome was cerebral performance category (CPC) 1 or 2 at hospital discharge. Multivariable logistic regression, adjusted for Utstein variables and resuscitation-associated time intervals, was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR). ResultsThe cohort of complete cases included 4779 patients. The median time exposed to a prehospital advanced airway was 27 min (IQR 20–35). The total prehospital time was 39.4 min (IQR 32.3−48.1). An advanced airway was placed intra-arrest in 3830 cases (80.1%) and post-return of spontaneous circulation (post-ROSC) in 949 cases (19.9%). Overall, 486 (10.2%) of the cohort achieved the CPC outcome, but this was higher in the post-ROSC (21.7%) versus intra-arrest (7.5%) cohort. CPC was not associated with the time interval from advanced airway placement to ED arrival in the intra-arrest airway cohort (aOR 0.98, 95%CI 0.94−1.01). ConclusionsIn OHCA patients who receive an intra-arrest advanced airway, longer time intervals exposed to a prehospital advanced airway are not associated with reduced patient survival.

Impact of prehospital airway interventions on outcome in cardiac arrest following drowning: A study from the CARES Surveillance Group

IntroductionDrowning results in more than 360,000 deaths annually, making it the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide. Prior studies have examined airway interventions affecting patient outcomes in cardiac arrest, but less is known about drowning patients in arrest. This study evaluated the outcomes of drowning patients in the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) who received advanced airway management. MethodsA retrospective analysis of the CARES database identified cases of drowning etiology between 2013 and 2018. Patients were stratified by airway intervention performed by EMS personnel. Demographics, sustained return of spontaneous circulation [ROSC], survival to hospital admission, survival to hospital discharge, and neurological outcomes were compared between airway groups using chi-squared tests and logistic regression. ResultsAmong 2388 drowning patients, 70.4% were male, 41.8% white, and 13.1% survived to hospital discharge. Patients that received supraglottic airways [SGA] had statistically significantly lower odds of survival to hospital admission compared to endotracheal tube [ETT] use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42–0.76) as well as lower odds of survival to discharge compared to bag valve mask [BVM] use (aOR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.19−0.86) when accounting for relative ROSC timing. ConclusionIn this national cohort of drowning patients in cardiac arrest, SGA use was associated with significantly lower odds of survival to hospital admission and discharge. However, survival to discharge with favorable neurological outcome did not differ significantly between airway management techniques. Further studies will need to examine if airway intervention order or time to intervention affects outcomes.

Association between prehospital airway management methods and neurologic outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with respiratory cause: a nationwide retrospective observational study

Cardiac arrests are resulted by various aetiology including respiratory cause. Advanced airway placement is an important prehospital intervention for oxygenation and ventilation in respiratory cardiac arrest. We evaluated the association between of advanced airway method and neurologic outcome in arrest with respiratory cause. Adult witnessed non-traumatic OHCA (out-of-hospital cardiac arrest) treated by emergency medical service (EMS) providers in 2013–2017 were enrolled in a nationwide OHCA database. The association between airway management methods (endotracheal intubation (ETI), supraglottic airway (SGA) and bag valve mask (BVM)) and outcome were evaluated according to the presumed cause of cardiac arrest (cardiac, respiratory or others). The primary outcome was good neurological recovery at discharge. Multivariable logistic regression models with interaction analysis was conducted. Of 40,443 eligible OHCA patients, the cause of arrest of 90.0%, 7.5%, and 2.4% of patients were categorized as cardiac, respiratory and others, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in the effect of the advanced airway type on good neurologic recovery in the total population (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.96 (0.81–1.14) for ETI; 1.01 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.93–1.11) for BVM). However, ETI was associated with better neurologic recovery than SGA or BVM in OHCA in cardiac arrest with suspected respiratory cause (aOR 3.12 (95% CI 1.24–7.80) for ETI; 0.99 (95% CI 0.51–1.91) for BVM). Prehospital ETI was associated with good neurologic outcome when the cause of arrest was respiratory. ETI may be considered initially when a respiratory cause is suspected on the scene.

Abstract 307: Epidemiology, Outcomes and Factors Associated with Survival Following Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests in Vietnam

Introduction: Pre-hospital capabilities are minimally developed in Vietnam; therefore, the prognosis of OHCA might differ from that of other countries. The aim of this study was to investigate survival rate from OHCA and potential determinants of the chain of survival following an OHCA in a developing country. Hypothesis: Understanding the country-specific etiologies and the disease risk and prognosis of OHCA are crucial for reducing mortality in Vietnam, as well as in other countries that face challenges in clinical practice owing to limited medical resources. Methods: This is a multi-center prospective observational study of OHCA patients (age>18 years) presenting to the ED of three tertiary hospitals from February 2014 to December 2018. Factors associated with survival following OHCA were collected and compared among types of pre-hospital care transportation and between survival and non-survival to admission. Factors for survival to admission were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Results: Among 590 OHCA patients (male, 74.6%; age, 56.1±17.2 years), we observed low rates of survival to admission (24.2%) and discharge (14.1%). Of total patients, 67.8% occurred at home, 79.4% witnessed by bystanders, 124/555 (22.3%) received bystander CPR, a minority of patients (8.64%) was conveyed by EMS, and 49/152 (32.2%) received pre-hospital defibrillation. Multivariate analysis revealed that past medical history (PMH) of respiratory disease (OR, 3.128; 95% CI, 1.197-8.173), pre-hospital defibrillation (OR, 3.904; 95% CI, 1.540-9.898), pre-hospital advanced airway (OR, 3.441; 95% CI, 1.203-9.844) and ROSC at ED (OR, 2.891; 95% CI, 1.030-8.115) were independent factors for survival to admission. Following OHCA with cardiac etiology, EMS use (OR, 0.203; 95% CI, 0.044-0.935) was also an independent factor for survival to admission. Conclusions: This was a highly selected cohort of OHCA patients presenting to the ED. Many OHCA victims in Vietnam do not come to the ED. PMH of respiratory disease, pre-hospital defibrillation and advanced airway, and ROSC at ED were independent factors predicting survival to admission. EMS use was also an inverse and independent predictor of survival to admission among patients following OHCA with cardiac etiology.

Comparison of the Skill of Emergency Medical Technicians in Terms of Advanced Airway Management Using Endotracheal Tube vs Laryngeal Mask Airway in an OSCE Using a Mannequin

Background: Supraglottic airway management tools such as the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) have recently emerged as the first choice in pre-hospital and hospital airway management guidelines as well as an alternative strategy after endotracheal tube (ETT) placement failure. However, the pros and cons of the LMA compared to endotracheal intubation are still debated. Given that no study has been conducted to date on the skills of emergency medical technician (EMT) in airway management using LMA compared to endotracheal intubation, we decided to do a study in this regard. Methods: In this objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), EMTs who had a degree of associate or bachelor were participated. The examiner asked the examinees the required information and entered it in the pre-prepared checklists. The participants took part in a two-stage exam. In the first stage, the airway management of the simulated trauma patient was performed by endotracheal intubation, and in the second stage, the same scenario was performed with LMA. At each stage, the examiner evaluated the examinee's performance in 4 fields of Preparation, Pre-oxygenation, Position and Placement, and Post-intubation management using a standard checklist. In addition, the duration of the procedure from the beginning to the time of fixing the ETT or LMA was recorded and compared. Results: Totally, 105 EMTs participated in this study, of whom, 102 were male (97.1%). The mean age of the subjects was 36.4± 7.3 years old. Of the total participants, 72 passed both practical exams successfully, and they generally insert the LMA faster; so that the duration of intubation and LMA insertion in 1.4% and 30.6% were <1 min, respectively (p< 0.001). However, no significant difference was observed in terms of the mean time (p= 0.427). Conclusion: In the present study, the skills of the technicians participating in the study in performing advanced airway procedures were moderate, and also, it was found that their skills in LMA insertion were less than endotracheal tube insertion.

Western Trauma Association critical decisions in trauma: airway management in adult trauma patients

This is a recommended evaluation and management algorithm from the Western Trauma Association (WTA) Algorithms Committee addressing the prehospital and in-hospital airway management of adult trauma patients. Because there is...

Does a Pre-Hospital Airway Impact Outcomes after Traumatic Brain Injury?

Nordness, Mina F. MD; Chotai, Silky; Erickson, Caroline BS; Wilson, Laura D. PhD; Chandrasekhar, Rameela PhD; Patel, Mayur B. MD, MPH, FACS Author Information

Can Education and Enhanced Medical Director Oversight Improve Definitive Airway Control in the Prehospital Environment?

Endotracheal intubation (ETI) is the most definitive technique for airway management. However, supraglottic airway (SGA) may be used when ETI is not feasible. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of updated field sedation protocols, simulation teaching, robust Quality Assurance/Continuing Quality Improvement (QA/CQI) program, and enhanced emergency medical services (EMSs) medical director oversight on ETI and SGA usage at a Level 1 trauma center. After the transition of EMS directors in May 2016, field sedation protocols were updated, a new QA/CQI was instituted, and multiple teaching and simulation sessions were conducted. A retrospective review of EMS data was conducted on all prehospital airway interventions performed by EMS personnel. Intubations occurring from July 2013 to May 2016 served as controls. Intubations from May 2016 to December 2017 served as the comparison group. Data collected included intubation type/indication, age, and successful or unsuccessful. There were 967 ETI and SGA performed on 84% and 15% of patients, respectively. Success rates were 75% for ETI and 82% for SGA. ETI increased from 83% in the control group to 88% in the study group, and SGA decreased from 16% in the control group to 11% in the study group (P = .029). The success rate for ETI increased by 2% in the study group (P = .539). This study showed that definitive airway control could be positively impacted by incorporating education and medical director oversight into EMS training. ETI increased and SGA decreased after implementation.

Increased First Pass Success with C-MAC Videolaryngoscopy in Prehospital Endotracheal Intubation-A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Endotracheal intubation (ETI) with direct view laryngoscopy (DL) is the gold standard for airway management. Videolaryngoscopy (VL) can improve glottis visualization, thus facilitating ETI. The aim of this monocentric, randomized, prospective study on a physician staffed German air ambulance is to compare DL and VL for ETI in terms of number of attempts and time as well as visualization of the glottis in a prehospital setting in a physician-based rescue system in adult patients. A power analysis was performed à priori. We used consecutive on-scene randomization with a sealed envelope system for the DL and VL-group. Successful ETI with first pass success was significantly more frequent with VL than DL and three seconds faster. The percentage of glottis opening and the Cormack & Lehane classification were significantly better with VL than DL. Regarding improved first pass success in ETI with the VL, we would recommend the use of VL for prehospital airway management in physician-based rescue systems.

First pass success of tracheal intubation using the C-MAC PM videolaryngoscope as first-line device in prehospital cardiac arrest compared with other emergencies: An observational study.

Successful airway management is a priority in the resuscitation of critically ill or traumatised patients. Several studies have demonstrated the importance of achieving maximum first pass success, particularly in prehospital advanced airway management. To compare success rates of emergency intubations between patients requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for cardiac arrest (CPR group) and other emergencies (non-CPR group) using the C-MAC PM videolaryngoscope. Ongoing analysis of prospective collected prehospital advanced airway management core variables. Single helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) 'Christoph 22', Ulm Military Hospital, Germany, May 2009 to July 2018. We included all 1006 HEMS patients on whom prehospital advanced airway management was performed by board-certified anaesthesiologists on call at HEMS 'Christoph 22'. The C-MAC PM was used as the first-line device. The initial direct laryngoscopy was carried out using the C-MAC PM without the monitor in sight. After scoring the direct laryngoscopic view according to the Cormack and Lehane grade, the monitor was folded within the sight of the physician and tracheal intubation was performed using the videolaryngoscopic view without removing the blade. The primary outcome was successful airway management. Secondary outcomes were the patient's position during airway management, necessity for suction, direct and videolaryngoscopic view according to Cormack and Lehane grading, as well as number of attempts needed for successful intubation. A patent airway was achieved in all patients including rescue techniques. There was a lower first pass success rate in the CPR group compared with the non-CPR group (84.4 vs. 91.4%, P = 0.01). In the CPR group, direct laryngoscopy resulted more often in a clinically unfavourable (Cormack and Lehane grade 3 or 4) glottic view (CPR vs. non-CPR-group 37.2 vs. 26.7%, P = 0.0071). Using videolaryngoscopy reduced the clinically unfavourable grading to Cormack and Lehane 1 or 2 (P < 0.0001). The odds of achieving first pass success were approximately 12-fold higher with a favourable glottic view than with an unfavourable glottic view (OR 12.6, CI, 6.70 to 23.65). Airway management in an anaesthesiologist-staffed HEMS is associated with a high first pass success rate but even with skilled providers using the C-MAC PM videolaryngoscope routinely, patients who require CPR offer more difficulties for successful prehospital advanced airway management at the first attempt. German Clinical trials register (drks.de) DRKS00020484.

Racial disparities in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest interventions and survival in the Pragmatic Airway Resuscitation Trial

BackgroundPrior studies have reported racial disparities in survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). However, these studies did not evaluate the association of race with OHCA course of care and outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate racial disparities in OHCA airway placement success and patient outcomes in the multicenter Pragmatic Airway Resuscitation Trial (PART). MethodWe conducted a secondary analysis of adult OHCA patients enrolled in PART. The parent trial randomized subjects to initial advanced airway management with laryngeal tube or endotracheal intubation. For this analysis, the primary independent variable was patient race categorized by emergency medical services (EMS) as white, black, Hispanic, other, and unknown. We used general estimating equations to examine the association of race with airway attempt success, 72-h survival, and survival to hospital discharge, adjusting for sex, age, witness status, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), initial rhythm, arrest location, and PART randomization cluster. ResultsOf 3002 patients, EMS-assessed race as 1537 white, 860 black, 163 Hispanic, 90 other, and 352 unknown. Initial shockable rhythms (13.8% vs. 21.5%, p < 0.001), bystander CPR (35.6% vs. 51.4%, p < 0.001), and survival to hospital discharge (7.6% vs. 10.8%, p = 0.011) were lower for black compared to white patients. After adjustment for confounders, no difference was seen in airway success, 72-h survival, and survival to hospital discharge by race. ConclusionsIn one of the largest studies evaluating differences in prehospital airway interventions and outcomes by EMS-assessed race for OHCA patients, we found no significant adjusted differences between airway success or survival outcomes.

Pediatric Prehospital Airway Management by U.S. Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Airway obstruction is a treatable cause of potentially preventable death on the battlefield. Emergency cricothyrotomies are rarely performed in developed countries, but are a common prehospital procedure in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We describe prehospital airway interventions performed on pediatric casualties with a focus on cricothyrotomy during these recent conflicts. This is a secondary analysis of previously published dataset from the Department of Defense Trauma Registry for pediatric encounters from January 2007 to January 2017. Within our dataset we searched for all instances of airway interventions in the prehospital setting. During this time, there were 3,439 pediatric casualties in the registry with a total of 18 prehospital cricothyrotomies and 211 prehospital intubations. For cricothyrotomies, the median age was 10 years, most (72.2%) were male, median composite injury score was 25, most were injured by explosive (44.4%), more commonly located in Afghanistan (77.8%), and approximately half survived to hospital discharge (44.4%). The head was most frequently injured (44.4%). Of those undergoing endotracheal intubation, the median age was 10 years, most (75.8%) were male, median injury score was 17, most were injured by explosives (53.5%), most were in Afghanistan (85.7%), and most survived to hospital discharge (66.8%). The head/neck most frequently had a serious injury (56.8%). In this dataset, 6.8% of children underwent prehospital intubation and 0.5% underwent prehospital cricothyrotomy. Airway interventions were frequently associated with head injuries. This highlights the importance of training and equipping prehospital medical personnel for pediatric trauma care in accordance with military clinical practice guidelines.

Computer tomographic assessment of gastric volume in major trauma patients: impact of pre-hospital airway management on gastric air

BackgroundGastric dilation is frequently observed in trauma patients. However, little is known about average gastric volumes comprising food, fluids and air. Although literature suggests a relevant risk of gastric insufflation when endotracheal intubation (ETI) is required in the pre-hospital setting, this assumption is still unproven.MethodsPrimary whole body computed tomographic (CT) studies of 315 major trauma patients admitted to our Level 1 Trauma Centre Salzburg during a 7-year period were retrospectively assessed. Gastric volumes were calculated employing a CT volume rendering software. Patients intubated in the pre-hospital setting by emergency physicians (PHI, N = 245) were compared with spontaneously breathing patients requiring ETI immediately after arrival in the emergency room (ERI, N = 70).ResultsThe median (range) total gastric content and air volume was 402 (26–2401) and 94 (0–1902) mL in PHI vs. 466 (59–1915) and 120 (1–997) mL in ERI patients (p = .59 and p = .35). PHI patients were more severely injured when compared with the ERI group (injury severity score (ISS) 33 (9–75) vs. 25 (9–75); p = .004). Mortality was higher in the PHI vs. ERI group (26.8% vs. 8.6%, p = .001). When PHI and ERI patients were matched for sex, age, body mass index and ISS (N = 50 per group), total gastric content and air volume was 496 (59–1915) and 119 (0–997) mL in the PHI vs. 429 (36–1726) and 121 (4–1191) mL in the ERI group (p = .85 and p = .98). Radiologic findings indicative for aspiration were observed in 8.1% of PHI vs. 4.3% of ERI patients (p = .31). Gastric air volume in patients who showed signs of aspiration was 194 (0–1355) mL vs. 98 (1–1902) mL in those without pulmonary CT findings (p = .08).ConclusionIn major trauma patients, overall stomach volume deriving from food, fluids and air must be expected to be around 400–500 mL. Gastric dilation caused by air is common but not typically associated with pre-hospital airway management. The amount of air in the stomach seems to be associated with the risk of aspiration. Further studies, specifically addressing patients after difficult airway management situations are warranted.