Articles: intubation.
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Oropharyngeal airways are used both to facilitate airway patency during mask ventilation as well as conduits for flexible scope intubation, though none excel at both. A novel device, the Articulated Oral Airway (AOA), is designed to facilitate flexible scope intubation by active displacement of the tongue. Whether this active tongue displacement also facilitates mask ventilation, thus adding dual functionality, is unknown. This study compared the AOA to the Guedel Oral Airway (GOA) in regards to efficacy of mask ventilation of patients with factors predictive of difficult mask ventilation. The hypothesis was that the AOA would be non-inferior to the GOA in terms of expiratory tidal volumes by a margin of 1 ml/kg, thus demonstrating dual functionality. ⋯ The AOA was non-inferior to the GOA for mask ventilation of patients with predictors of difficult mask ventilation and there was no significant difference in EtCO2 waveforms between the groups. These results were consistent in the subset of patients who were initially difficult to mask ventilate.
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Although several international guidelines recommend early over late intubation of patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this issue is still controversial. We aimed to investigate the effect (if any) of timing of intubation on clinical outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID-19 by carrying out a systematic review and meta-analysis. ⋯ The synthesized evidence suggests that timing of intubation may have no effect on mortality and morbidity of critically ill patients with COVID-19. These results might justify a wait-and-see approach, which may lead to fewer intubations. Relevant guidelines may therefore need to be updated.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Intubation Practices and Adverse Peri-intubation Events in Critically Ill Patients From 29 Countries.
Tracheal intubation is one of the most commonly performed and high-risk interventions in critically ill patients. Limited information is available on adverse peri-intubation events. ⋯ In this observational study of intubation practices in critically ill patients from a convenience sample of 197 sites across 29 countries, major adverse peri-intubation events-in particular cardiovascular instability-were observed frequently.