Watch instructor Panoraia Rammou, NFESC, display an advanced airway management technique at the 2010 Cardiovascular Nursing Meeting
Several studies have demonstrated improved outcome in critically injured patients if the airway is secured early by endotracheal intubation. However, in an emergency situation, personnel with limited clinical experience in the skills of direct laryngoscopy may be required to perform tracheal intubation. The key point is not necessarily to intubate the trachea, but to ensure that ventilation and oxygenation are maintained at all times.
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When patients cannot be intubated by direct laryngoscopy, other airway adjuncts are available. In the following presentation some new or not so new alternatives to direct laryngoscopy are presented. These options include supraglottic airway devices such as the standard Laryngeal Mask Airway (classic LMA) and its modifications [LMA unique (single use LMA), LMA fastrach (intubating LMA), LMA proseal (gastric LMA), and i-gel LMA] and a rigid laryngoscope (such as the AIRTRAQ).
Delegates at the 10th Annual Spring on Cardiovascular Nursing had the opportunity to provide adequate ventilation in an airway training mannequin using a self-inflating bag-mask (one or two person technique), to insert and ventilate via an alternative airway device or to intubate the mannequin via an AIRTRAQ laryngoscopy.
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