A Prospective Observational Comparison of Two Approaches to Anesthetizing the Trachea for Awake Intubation.

BACKGROUND: Multiple techniques have been described for anesthetizing the lower glottis and trachea prior to awake fiberoptic intubation. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate whether direct application of local anesthetic to the lower airway via an epidural catheter under direct vision is equally efficacious when compared to use of a transtracheal block in adult patients with an anticipated difficult airway. METHODS: Patients age >18 years requiring awake fiberoptic intubation who underwent upper and lower airway topicalization were observed prospectively. Following topicalization of the upper airway, patients underwent either a transtracheal block or had their trachea and lower glottis anesthetized under direct vision via dispersion of local anesthetic through a multi-orifice epidural catheter. Choice of technique was at the discretion of the attending anesthesiologist. The primary outcome was defined as the degree of coughing observed at the time of intubation based on a 4-point ordinal scale. RESULTS: Awake intubations in 88 patients were observed with 44 patients undergoing transtracheal block and 44 patients undergoing the epidural catheter technique. Degree of coughing with intubation was similar for each approach with a coughing score of (0, IQR (0,1)) versus (0, IQR (0,1)) in the epidural catheter and transtracheal groups respectively (p = 0.385). Duration of procedure was less in the transtracheal group (1.35 ± 1.54 min) vs. epidural catheter approach (2.86 ± 2.20 min) (p< 0.001). CONCLUSION: The epidural catheter and transtracheal approach appear to be equally effective at preventing coughing with intubation during awake fiberoptic intubation.

A Randomized Comparison of Positional Stability: The EZ-Blocker Versus Left-Sided Double-Lumen Endobronchial Tubes in Adult Patients Undergoing Thoracic Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To assess if there is a difference in the repositioning rate of the EZ-Blocker versus a left-sided double-lumen endobronchial tube (DLT) in patients undergoing thoracic surgery and one-lung ventilation. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized. SETTING: Single center, university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred sixty-three thoracic surgery patients. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized to either EZ-Blocker or a DLT. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary outcome was positional stability of either the EZ-Blocker or a left-sided double-lumen endobronchial tube, defined as the number of repositionings per hour of surgery and one-lung ventilation. Secondary outcomes included an ordinal isolation score from 1 to 3, in which 1 was poor, up to 3, which represented excellent isolation, and a visual analog postoperative sore throat score (0-100) on postoperative days (POD) one and two. Rate of repositionings per hour during one-lung ventilation and surgical manipulation in left-sided cases was similar between the two devices: 0.08 ± 0.15 v 0.11 ± 0.3 (p = 0.72). In right-sided cases, the rate of repositioning was higher in the EZ-Blocker group compared with DLT: 0.38 ± 0.65 v 0.09 ± 0.21 (p = 0.03). Overall, mean isolation scores for the EZ-Blocker versus the DLT were 2.76 v 2.92 (p = 0.04) in left-sided cases and 2.70 v 2.83 (p = 0.22) in right-sided cases. Median sore throat scores for left sided cases were 0 v 5 (p = 0.13) POD one and 0 v 5 (p = 0.006) POD two for the EZ-Blocker and left-sided DLT, respectively. CONCLUSION: For right-sided procedures, the positional stability of the EZ-Blocker is inferior to a DLT. In left-sided cases, the rate of repositioning for the EZ-Blocker and DLT are not statistically different.

Aspirin Use Is Associated With Decreased Mechanical Ventilation, Intensive Care Unit Admission, and In-Hospital Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is associated with hypercoagulability and increased thrombotic risk in critically ill patients. To our knowledge, no studies have evaluated whether aspirin use is associated with reduced risk of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and in-hospital mortality. METHODS: A retrospective, observational cohort study of adult patients admitted with COVID-19 to multiple hospitals in the United States between March 2020 and July 2020 was performed. The primary outcome was the need for mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcomes were ICU admission and in-hospital mortality. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for study outcomes were calculated using Cox-proportional hazards models after adjustment for the effects of demographics and comorbid conditions. RESULTS: Four hundred twelve patients were included in the study. Three hundred fourteen patients (76.3%) did not receive aspirin, while 98 patients (23.7%) received aspirin within 24 hours of admission or 7 days before admission. Aspirin use had a crude association with less mechanical ventilation (35.7% aspirin versus 48.4% nonaspirin, P = .03) and ICU admission (38.8% aspirin versus 51.0% nonaspirin, P = .04), but no crude association with in-hospital mortality (26.5% aspirin versus 23.2% nonaspirin, P = .51). After adjusting for 8 confounding variables, aspirin use was independently associated with decreased risk of mechanical ventilation (adjusted HR, 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37-0.85, P = .007), ICU admission (adjusted HR, 0.57, 95% CI, 0.38-0.85, P = .005), and in-hospital mortality (adjusted HR, 0.53, 95% CI, 0.31-0.90, P = .02). There were no differences in major bleeding (P = .69) or overt thrombosis (P = .82) between aspirin users and nonaspirin users. CONCLUSIONS: Aspirin use may be associated with improved outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. However, a sufficiently powered randomized controlled trial is needed to assess whether a causal relationship exists between aspirin use and reduced lung injury and mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Sticks or Carrots? How an Easy-to-Implement Incentive Plan Improved Our Performance on the In-training Exam.

BACKGROUND: In-training examinations (ITEs) are commonly used by residency programs to measure competency in their respective fields. It has been demonstrated that success on the ITE is correlated to First Time Pass Rate (FTPR) on the boards. Therefore, it is important to motivate residents to perform well on these exams. Previous studies indicate positive incentivization may contribute to improvement on examinations. The objective of our study was to determine whether introduction of a positive incentive could improve resident performance on the ITE and/or FTPR on the advanced certifying exam. METHODS: A positive incentive was introduced in 2017 (certificate of commendation, curriculum vitae honor, public recognition, and $500 in their books/travel allowance) to residents who achieved the target score on the ITE (80th percentile). A survey was then provided to these residents to determine which incentives contributed most to their motivation. RESULTS: Before the incentivization, 21 (15.1%) of the previous 149 senior residents reached the target score on the annual ITE. After incentivization, this improved to 28 (30.9%) of 81 (P = .0056). The FTPR on the advanced certifying exam was 90% before incentivization and 97.6% after (P = .14). The survey found that the primary motivators were extra funding, honor on their curriculum vitae, and public recognition. CONCLUSIONS: We found that our residents had significant improvements on the annual ITE after the introduction of positive incentives. This incentivization may be easily implemented by program directors in their respective medical residencies to increase examination performance.

Procedural Challenges During Intubation in Patients With Oropharyngeal Masses: A Prospective Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: In patients who undergo surgery for oropharyngeal masses, intubation is almost always successful. However, technical aspects of airway management, including bag mask ventilation and oxygenation, may still be difficult. Although rates of airway difficulty and intubation success in these patients have been studied, these data may not reflect difficulty with individual components of the intubation process. We hypothesized that rates of complications with individual elements of the intubation process would not be reflected in the rate of eventual intubation success. To test our hypothesis, we observed the process of airway management and resulting complications with oxygenation and bag mask ventilation in patients with oropharyngeal masses undergoing otorhinolaryngology procedures under general anesthesia. METHODS: Forty-four patients with oropharyngeal masses scheduled for surgery were observed during the process of airway management. Observers recorded the number of airway devices used, the overall number of intubation attempts, the number and type of manual maneuvers required during bag mask ventilation, and the incidence of oxygen desaturation. The eventual intubation success rate was also recorded. RESULTS: All 44 patients (100%; 95% CI, 92%-100%) were successfully intubated. Thirty-six (81.8%) of 44 patients were intubated asleep and 8 (18.2%) of 44 were intubated awake using flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Thirty-one (86.1%) of 36 patients who were intubated asleep received bag mask ventilation before intubation, while the other 5 patients underwent a rapid sequence induction. Twenty-seven (61.4%) of 44 patients (95% CI, 45%-75%) had ≥1 complication during airway management. Ten (23%) of 44 patients (95% CI, 11%-37%) required ≥3 attempts to intubate, 21 (68%) of 31 patients (95% CI, 49%-83%) had difficult mask ventilation, and 15 patients (34%; 95% CI, 20%-50%) experienced desaturation (oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry, <95%). CONCLUSIONS: We found that, although all patients were successfully intubated, clinicians frequently encountered complications with both intubation and mask ventilation. These complications required frequent use of additional manual maneuvers during mask ventilation and a high incidence of oxygen desaturation. The difficulty of airway management in patients with oropharyngeal masses may not be effectively assessed by success rate alone.

Anatomic and physiopathologic changes affecting the airway of the elderly patient: implications for geriatric-focused airway management.

There are many anatomical, physiopathological, and cognitive changes that occur in the elderly that affect different components of airway management: intubation, ventilation, oxygenation, and risk of aspiration. Anatomical changes occur in different areas of the airway from the oral cavity to the larynx. Common changes to the airway include tooth decay, oropharyngeal tumors, and significant decreases in neck range of motion. These changes may make intubation challenging by making it difficult to visualize the vocal cords and/or place the endotracheal tube. Also, some of these changes, including but not limited to, atrophy of the muscles around the lips and an edentulous mouth, affect bag mask ventilation due to a difficult face-mask seal. Physiopathologic changes may impact airway management as well. Common pulmonary issues in the elderly (eg, obstructive sleep apnea and COPD) increase the risk of an oxygen desaturation event, while gastrointestinal issues (eg, achalasia and gastroesophageal reflux disease) increase the risk of aspiration. Finally, cognitive changes (eg, dementia) not often seen as related to airway management may affect patient cooperation, especially if an awake intubation is required. Overall, degradation of the airway along with other physiopathologic and cognitive changes makes the elderly population more prone to complications related to airway management. When deciding which airway devices and techniques to use for intubation, the clinician should also consider the difficulty associated with ventilating the patient, the patient's risk of oxygen desaturation, and/or aspiration. For patients who may be difficult to bag mask ventilate or who have a risk of aspiration, a specialized supralaryngeal device may be preferable over bag mask for ventilation. Patients with tumors or decreased neck range of motion may require a device with more finesse and maneuverability, such as a flexible fiberoptic broncho-scope. Overall, geriatric-focused airway management is necessary to decrease complications in this patient population.