Prehospital Airway Management: A Systematic Review

Objective. To assess the comparative benefits and harms across three airway management approaches (bag valve mask [BVM], supraglottic airway [SGA], and endotracheal intubation [ETI]) by emergency medical services in the prehospital setting, and how the benefits and harms differ based on patient characteristics, techniques, and devices. Data sources. We searched electronic citation databases (Ovid® MEDLINE®, CINAHL®, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Scopus®) from 1990 to September 2020 and reference lists, and posted a Federal Register notice request for data. Review methods. Review methods followed Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Evidence-based Practice Center Program methods guidance. Using pre-established criteria, studies were selected and dual reviewed, data were abstracted, and studies were evaluated for risk of bias. Meta-analyses using profile-likelihood random effects models were conducted when data were available from studies reporting on similar outcomes, with analyses stratified by study design, emergency type, and age. We qualitatively synthesized results when meta-analysis was not indicated. Strength of evidence (SOE) was assessed for primary outcomes (survival, neurological function, return of spontaneous circulation [ROSC], and successful advanced airway insertion [for SGA and ETI only]). Results. We included 99 studies (22 randomized controlled trials and 77 observational studies) involving 630,397 patients. Overall, we found few differences in primary outcomes when airway management approaches were compared. • For survival, there was moderate SOE for findings of no difference for BVM versus ETI in adult and mixed-age cardiac arrest patients. There was low SOE for no difference in these patients for BVM versus SGA and SGA versus ETI. There was low SOE for all three comparisons in pediatric cardiac arrest patients, and low SOE in adult trauma patients when BVM was compared with ETI. • For neurological function, there was moderate SOE for no difference for BVM compared with ETI in adults with cardiac arrest. There was low SOE for no difference in pediatric cardiac arrest for BVM versus ETI and SGA versus ETI. In adults with cardiac arrest, neurological function was better for BVM and ETI compared with SGA (both low SOE). • ROSC was applicable only in cardiac arrest. For adults, there was low SOE that ROSC was more frequent with SGA compared with ETI, and no difference for BVM versus SGA or BVM versus ETI. In pediatric patients there was low SOE of no difference for BVM versus ETI and SGA versus ETI. • For successful advanced airway insertion, low SOE supported better first-pass success with SGA in adult and pediatric cardiac arrest patients and adult patients in studies that mixed emergency types. Low SOE also supported no difference for first-pass success in adult medical patients. For overall success, there was moderate SOE of no difference for adults with cardiac arrest, medical, and mixed emergency types. • While harms were not always measured or reported, moderate SOE supported all available findings. There were no differences in harms for BVM versus SGA or ETI. When SGA was compared with ETI, there were no differences for aspiration, oral/airway trauma, and regurgitation; SGA was better for multiple insertion attempts; and ETI was better for inadequate ventilation. Conclusions. The most common findings, across emergency types and age groups, were of no differences in primary outcomes when prehospital airway management approaches were compared. As most of the included studies were observational, these findings may reflect study design and methodological limitations. Due to the dynamic nature of the prehospital environment, the results are susceptible to indication and survival biases as well as confounding; however, the current evidence does not favor more invasive airway approaches. No conclusion was supported by high SOE for any comparison and patient group. This supports the need for high-quality randomized controlled trials designed to account for the variability and dynamic nature of prehospital airway management to advance and inform clinical practice as well as emergency medical services education and policy, and to improve patient-centered outcomes.

Association Between Prehospital Airway Management Methods and Neurologic Outcome in Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) with Respiratory Cause.

Purpose: Cardiac arrests are resulted by various aetiology including respiratory cause. Advanced airway placement is an important prehospital intervention for oxygenation and ventilation in respiratory cardiac arrest. We evaluated the association between of advanced airway method and neurologic outcome in arrest with respiratory cause.Method: Adult witnessed non-traumatic OHCAs treated by emergency medical service (EMS) providers in 2013-2017 were enrolled in a nationwide OHCA database. The association between airway management methods (endotracheal intubation (ETI), supraglottic airway (SGA) and bag valve mask (BVM)) and outcome were evaluated according to the presumed cause of cardiac arrest (cardiac, respiratory or others). The primary outcome was good neurological recovery at discharge. Multivariable logistic regression models with interaction analysis was conducted.Result: Of 40,443 eligible OHCA patients, the cause of arrest of 90.0%, 7.5%, and 2.4% of patients were categorized as cardiac, respiratory and others, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in the effect of the advanced airway type on good neurologic recovery in the total population (aOR 0.96 (0.81-1.14) for ETI; 1.01 (95% CI 0.93-1.11) for BVM). However, ETI was associated with better neurologic recovery than SGA or BVM in OHCA in cardiac arrest with suspected respiratory cause (aOR 3.12 (95% CI 1.24-7.80) for ETI; 0.99 (95% CI 0.51-1.91) for BVM).Conclusion: Prehospital ETI was associated with good neurologic outcome when the cause of arrest was respiratory. ETI may be considered initially when a respiratory cause is suspected on the scene.

Association between prehospital airway management methods and neurologic outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with respiratory cause: a nationwide retrospective observational study

Cardiac arrests are resulted by various aetiology including respiratory cause. Advanced airway placement is an important prehospital intervention for oxygenation and ventilation in respiratory cardiac arrest. We evaluated the association between of advanced airway method and neurologic outcome in arrest with respiratory cause. Adult witnessed non-traumatic OHCA (out-of-hospital cardiac arrest) treated by emergency medical service (EMS) providers in 2013–2017 were enrolled in a nationwide OHCA database. The association between airway management methods (endotracheal intubation (ETI), supraglottic airway (SGA) and bag valve mask (BVM)) and outcome were evaluated according to the presumed cause of cardiac arrest (cardiac, respiratory or others). The primary outcome was good neurological recovery at discharge. Multivariable logistic regression models with interaction analysis was conducted. Of 40,443 eligible OHCA patients, the cause of arrest of 90.0%, 7.5%, and 2.4% of patients were categorized as cardiac, respiratory and others, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in the effect of the advanced airway type on good neurologic recovery in the total population (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.96 (0.81–1.14) for ETI; 1.01 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.93–1.11) for BVM). However, ETI was associated with better neurologic recovery than SGA or BVM in OHCA in cardiac arrest with suspected respiratory cause (aOR 3.12 (95% CI 1.24–7.80) for ETI; 0.99 (95% CI 0.51–1.91) for BVM). Prehospital ETI was associated with good neurologic outcome when the cause of arrest was respiratory. ETI may be considered initially when a respiratory cause is suspected on the scene.

Increased First Pass Success with C-MAC Videolaryngoscopy in Prehospital Endotracheal Intubation—A Randomized Controlled Trial

Endotracheal intubation (ETI) with direct view laryngoscopy (DL) is the gold standard for airway management. Videolaryngoscopy (VL) can improve glottis visualization, thus facilitating ETI. The aim of this monocentric, randomized, prospective study on a physician staffed German air ambulance is to compare DL and VL for ETI in terms of number of attempts and time as well as visualization of the glottis in a prehospital setting in a physician-based rescue system in adult patients. A power analysis was performed à priori. We used consecutive on-scene randomization with a sealed envelope system for the DL and VL-group. Successful ETI with first pass success was significantly more frequent with VL than DL and three seconds faster. The percentage of glottis opening and the Cormack & Lehane classification were significantly better with VL than DL. Regarding improved first pass success in ETI with the VL, we would recommend the use of VL for prehospital airway management in physician-based rescue systems.

Pediatric Prehospital Airway Management by U.S. Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan

Introduction Airway obstruction is a treatable cause of potentially preventable death on the battlefield. Emergency cricothyrotomies are rarely performed in developed countries, but are a common prehospital procedure in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We describe prehospital airway interventions performed on pediatric casualties with a focus on cricothyrotomy during these recent conflicts. Materials and Methods This is a secondary analysis of previously published dataset from the Department of Defense Trauma Registry for pediatric encounters from January 2007 to January 2017. Within our dataset we searched for all instances of airway interventions in the prehospital setting. Results During this time, there were 3,439 pediatric casualties in the registry with a total of 18 prehospital cricothyrotomies and 211 prehospital intubations. For cricothyrotomies, the median age was 10 years, most (72.2%) were male, median composite injury score was 25, most were injured by explosive (44.4%), more commonly located in Afghanistan (77.8%), and approximately half survived to hospital discharge (44.4%). The head was most frequently injured (44.4%). Of those undergoing endotracheal intubation, the median age was 10 years, most (75.8%) were male, median injury score was 17, most were injured by explosives (53.5%), most were in Afghanistan (85.7%), and most survived to hospital discharge (66.8%). The head/neck most frequently had a serious injury (56.8%). Conclusions In this dataset, 6.8% of children underwent prehospital intubation and 0.5% underwent prehospital cricothyrotomy. Airway interventions were frequently associated with head injuries. This highlights the importance of training and equipping prehospital medical personnel for pediatric trauma care in accordance with military clinical practice guidelines.