Supraglottic Airway Devices in Pediatric Difficult Airway Situations

Airway Morbidity, Emergencies

The purpose of the study is to compare three supraglottic airway devices (Combitube, Easytube, laryngeal mask airway) to endotracheal intubation in a simulated difficult airway scenario in a pediatric manikin.

Supraglottic airway devices (SAD) have been designed for the cannot intubate, cannot ventilate scenario in prehospital as well as intrahospital settings and are utilized in medical emergency services and emergency departments all over the world, not only for anticipated and unanticipated difficult airway situations but also as an airway device used by non-anesthesiologists or in situations where only limited practice is possible. Securing an airway in a pediatric emergency situation is crucial. Unfortunately, pediatricians usually lack the required skills and regular practice to perform endotracheal intubation (ETI, which is the gold standard for securing an airway) quickly and safely. SADs would pose a safe and feasible alternative to ETI. However, no studies on this topic are available. The investigators therefore wanted to evaluate three different SADs (Combitube, Easytube, laryngeal mask airway) in simulated difficult airway situations in a pediatric manikin in comparison to ETI.

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