• Chung-Cheng Wang, Chung-Hsien Chaou, Chiung-Yao Tseng, and Chih-Chuan Lin.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan, ROC.
• Eur J Emerg Med. 2016 Apr 1; 23 (2): 124-9.

ObjectiveEmergency medical personnel are at risk of secondary contamination when treating victims of chemical-biological-radiological-nuclear incidents. Hence, it is crucial to train them on the appropriate management of patients involved in chemical-biological-radiological-nuclear incidents. Personal protective equipment (PPE) plays an important role in treating patients suffering from various types of poisoning. However, very few studies have examined whether the use of PPE impedes airway management in an emergency department setting. The present study evaluated the effect of PPE on physicians' performance of emergency airway management using mannequins.MethodsForty emergency physicians with 1-4 years of experience participated, and were divided by years of experience (1-2 vs. 3-4 years). Each participant both intubated a tracheal tube and inserted a laryngeal mask airway into a mannequin, with and without wearing protection using preassembled intubation aids. The intubation time for both methods was assessed along with participants' preferences and experiences in airway management.ResultsThe mean (SD) times to successful tracheal tube/mask placement with and without protection were similar [tracheal tube: 17.86 s (6.38) vs. 17.83 s (11.13), P=0.99; laryngeal mask: 10.51 s (4.39) vs. 9.65 s (3.29), P=0.32].ConclusionProtective equipment had no effect on physicians' emergency airway placement time. The effect of wearing PPE is limited if postintubation care is excluded from the evaluation. Furthermore, intubation experience influenced participants' preferred approach for airway management.

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