We’ve all done it. It’s extremely easy to make any otherwise routine intubation difficult just by failing to properly position the patient or to use optimal technique. This article discusses the various ways you can adjust patient positioning and use your equipment to make intubation easy. Read More …
Attaching a nasal airway to a breathing circuit as a tool to assist or control ventilation is a very helpful trick to have in challenging airway management situations. This technique is particularly helpful during blind nasal intubation or fiberoptic intubation in young children after induction of general anesthesia for surgery, although it can be used in adults. Here we discuss use of this technique for a case of accidental extubation of a patient with Ludwig’s Angina.
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When intubating, we all know to check the depth of the endotracheal tube. Most people believe this is just to ensure that the tube is not too deep and therefore causing a mainstem intubaton: intubating just one bronchus and therefore only one lung. However, there are significant risks with having the tube too shallow as well, risks such as accidental extubation and potentially causing permanent damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerves. Here we discuss some of the warning signs that the cuff is too high and what to do about it. Read More …