2. Safe airway management
airway evaluation
identification of the difficult airway
assessment of other clinical factors
selection of the likely most successful
plan of action
reasonable alternative plan
3. Algorithmic Approach to Airway
Management
Have a precompiled plan of airway
management ready for implementation
as clinical airway difficulties are
encountered
develop a plan and a back-up plan
Practice guidelines for management of
the difficult airway
– ASA taskforce
– Anesthesiology 78 : 597 - 602, 1993
4. Emergency Airway
full stomach
altered level of consciousness
deteriorating cardiorespiratory
physiology
abnormal or distorted upper airway
anatomy
no time for pre-assessment or plan
9. Clinical Signs of Airway Compromise
: Protection
Blood in upper airway
Pus in upper airway
persistant vomiting
Loss of protective airway reflexes
10. Clinical Signs of Airway Compromise:
Oxygenation and Ventilation
Central cyanosis
Obtundation and diaphoresis
rapid shallow respirations
Accessory muscle use
Retractions
Abdominal paradox
12. Techniques for the
Compromised Airway
Bag-Valve-Mask Ventilation
Endotracheal Intubation
Rapid Sequence Intubation
Alternate techniques for the difficult
airway
13. Golden Rules of Bagging
“ Anybody ( almost ) can be oxygenated
and ventilated with a bag and a mask “
The art of bagging should be mastered
before the art of intubation
Manual ventilation skill with proper
equipment is a fundamental premise of
advanced airway management
14. Frequent Errors with BVM
failure to recognize its importance
forget to bag ( focussed on ETT )
give up on bagging too early
bag but don’t assess efficacy
failure to assign one person to airway
management only
16. Difficult Airway : BVM
degree of difficulty from zero to infinite
zero = no external effort/internal device
one person jaw thrust/ face seal
oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal AW
two person jaw thrust / face seal
– both internal airway devices
infinite -no patency despite maximal
external effort and full use of OP/NP
18. Prediction of the difficult
airway (Intubation)
1200 prospectively studied patients
of 84 patients predicted to have
problem, only 22 (25%) actually had a
problem
of 43 actual difficult intubations
incurred, only 22 (51%) were predicted
– Latto IP. and Rosen M
19. Prediction of the difficult
airway
history of past airway problems
Careful physical assessment
knowledge and experience to
overcome the "unpredicted difficult
airway".
learning practical airway management
skills in an environment that is not
urgent, stressful or life threatening
20.
21.
22. Difficult Airway :
Laryngoscopy
Short thick neck
Receding mandible
Buck teeth
Poor mandibular mobility/ limited jaw
opening
Limited head and neck movement
– ( including trauma )
23. Difficult Airway :
Laryngoscopy
Tumor, abscess or hematoma
Burns
Angioneurotic edema
Blunt or penetrating trauma
Rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing
spondylitis
Congenital syndromes
Neck surgery or radiation
24. Difficult Airway :
Laryngoscopy
3 fingerbreadths mentum to hyoid
3 fb chin to thyroid notch
3 fb upper to lower incisors
Head extension and neck flexion
Mallimpadi classification
Previous history of difficult intubation
25. Mallimpadi Classification
( Tongue to Pharyngeal Size )
I - soft palate, uvula, tonsillar pillars
– 99 % have grade I laryngoscopic view
II - soft palate, uvula
III - soft palate, base of uvula
IV - soft palate not visible
– 100% grade III or grade IV views
26. Unsuccessful Intubation
Bag the patient
Maximize neck flexion/ head extension
Move tongue out of line of site
Maximize mouth opening
Look for landmarks and adjust blade
BURP maneuver
increasing lifting force
consider Miller blade
Bag the patient
27. Dilemmas:
Awake or Asleep
Oral or Nasal
Laryngoscopy or Blind Intubation
To Paralyze or Not
28. Case #1
43 year old female, day 12 post SAH
5 unclipped cerebral aneurysms
vasospasm with left hemiparesis
hydrocephalus with clotted IV drain
rising ICP and BP
decreasing LOC
ate breakfast
29. Techniques
DL without pharmacologic aids
Awake Direct Laryngoscopy
Awake Blind Nasal
Rapid Sequence Intubation (RSI)
Fiberoptic
Surgical Cricothyroidotomy
30. Anesthesia Airway Maxims
the awake airway is the safest to
manage
spontaneous breathing is generally
safer than paralysis with PPV by mask
have a low threshold to wake the
patient up and cancel the case
call for help early
31. The “Intubation Reflex “
Catecholamine release in response to
laryngeal manipulation
Tachycardia, hypertension, raised ICP
Attenuated by beta-blockers, fentanyl
ICP rise possibly attenuated by
lidocaine
Midazolam and thiopental have no
effect
32. Rapid Sequence Intubation :
Definition
The near simultaneous administration of
a sedative-hypnotic agent and a
neuromuscular blocker in the presence
of continuous cricoid pressure to
facilitate endotracheal intubation and
minimize risk of aspiration
modifications are made depending upon
the clinical scenario
33. Rapid Sequence Intubation :
Advantages
Optimizes intubating conditions/
facilitates visualization
Increased rate of successful intubation
Decreased time to intubation
Decreased risk of aspiration
Attenuation of hemodynamic and ICP
changes
34. Rapid Sequence Intubation :
Contraindications
Anticipated difficulty with endotracheal
intubation
– anatomic distortion
Lack of operator skill or familiarity
inability to preoxygenate
35. Rapid Sequence Intubation :
Procedure
Pre-intubation assessment
Pre-oxygenate
Prepare ( for the worst )
Premedicate
Paralyze
Pressure on cricoid
Place the tube
Post intubation assessment
36. Pre-oxygenate
( Time - 5 Minutes)
100 % oxygen for 5 minutes
4 conscious deep breaths of 100 % O2
Fill FRC with reservoir of 100 % O2
Allows 3 to 5 minutes of apnea
Essential to allow avoidance of bagging
If necessary bag with cricoid pressure
37. Preparation
( Time - 5 Minutes )
ETT, stylet, blades, suction, BVM
Cardiac monitor, pulse oximeter, ETCO2
One ( preferably two ) iv lines
Drugs
Difficult airway kit including cric kit
Patient positioning
46. Emergency Surgical Airway
Maxims
they are usually a bloody mess, but ...
a bloody surgical airway is better than
an arrested patient with a nice looking
neck
47. Case # 2
42 year old female
right Pancoast tumor
RUL, RML, RLL collapse
ARDS on left
hypoxemic respiratory failure
cord compression C7 - T4