Airway Management in the Critically Ill Patient.

In this video, Dr Andy Higgs, Consultant Anaesthetist at Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and author of the DAS Intubation Guidelines for the Critically Ill tells us why this population and this environment have a higher risk of complications.

In The 4th National Audit Project (NAP4), at least one in four major airway events reported was from ICU or the Emergency Department. The outcome of these events was more likely to lead to permanent harm or death than events in anaesthesia.

Have you experienced airway management in a critically ill patient, on an intensive care unit, in the emergency department, on the ward or in the prehospital setting? Why do you think the risk of difficulty is higher in these environments? How do you prepare?

In the next steps we will take a closer look at the DAS Intubation Guidelines for the Critically Ill, discussing in particular how Human Factors and Ergonomics have been incorporated.