Tamingthesru
So You Want to Tomahawk Somebody?
If you took a listen to our last podcast or inferred from our most recent post, the "challenging airway" that was described was managed by way of a tomahawk intubation. As we discussed in the podcast, there were a number of different ways we could have elected to manage that patient's airway including intubation from the back of the stretcher with the patient seated upright, awake fiberoptic intubation (both nasotracheal and oropharyngeal with the assistance of a Williams airway), tomahawk intubation, or, as was suggested by one of the residents (nice suggestion Dr. Cousar) after our simulation (on the same case), through a bronch adapter hooked to a LMA...
What Makes an Airway Difficult
What Makes an Airway Difficult? In short, a lot of different factors play into making an airway difficult. In general, they can be broken down into anatomic, physiologic, and logistic. We'll cover some of the logistical issues that can complicate intubations on a later post (mostly with regards to intubation in the HEMS and prehospital setting).
The Levy Cup Cometh...
On this day of #EMConf goodness, we tease the upcoming day of Grand Rounds competition known as The Levy Cup. In 3 weeks time, the residents will pair off into teams in a battle of wits and skills. A round robin competition of procedural relay stations, simulations, trivia game shows, Cash for Cases (where the less money you spend on the patient, the more points you get) and some surprises I don't want to spoil here will pair the field down to 2 teams that will compete in the finale. Think SimWars gone crazy!