2021 Airway Article of the Year Winner Announced
Airway Management Education Center, the creators of The Difficult Airway Course™, hosted the tenth annual “Airway Article of the Year” award show as a live webinar on December 16, 2021. Webinar host, Calvin Brown III, MD presented four articles as finalists. The nominees were selected from among all the articles covered during the Airway Management Research Update webinars held in 2021. The content and merits of each article were presented, and the winner was chosen by a vote of the on-line audience during the show. The recorded show is available at www.airwayworld.com/webinars and as a podcast on iTunes.
The 2021 Nominees
The nominees for this honor were:
- Driver B. et al. Engagement of the Median Glossoepiglottic Fold and Laryngeal View During Emergency Department Intubation. Ann Emerg Med. 2021 Dec;78(6):699-707.
- April M, et al. Peri-intubation cardiac arrest in the Emergency Department: A National Emergency Airway Registry (NEAR) study. 2021 May;162:403-411.
- Zimmerman B., et al. Assessment of the Thyromental Height Test as an Effective Airway Evaluation Tool. Ann Emerg Med. 2021 Mar;77(3):305-314.
- Levin N. et al. The Association of Rocuronium Dosing and First-Attempt Intubation Success in Adult Emergency Department Patients. 2021 Jul;23(4):518-527.
The 2021 Winner
The winner of the 2021 “Airway Article of the Year” is Peri-intubation cardiac arrest in the Emergency Department: A National Emergency Airway Registry (NEAR) study by Michal April MD, Joshua Reynolds MD, Jestin Carlson MD, William Davis MD, Steven Schauer DO, Joshua Oliver MD, Shane Summers MD, Brit Long MD, Ron Walls MD and Calvin Brown III MD: NEAR Investigators.
In this study, researchers conducted an analysis of the NEAR registry to determine the incidence of peri-intubation cardiac arrest. They looked at 15,776 subjects who met the selection criteria (ED endotracheal intubations of patients greater than 14 years old from 2016-201; patients with cardiac arrest prior to intubation were excluded.) Researchers found three factors associated with higher likelihood of peri-intubation cardiac arrest: the patient arrived in shock, peri-intubation hypoxemia and the need for emergent intubation (need to intubate is so instantaneous, no time to address shock or hypoxemia). They concluded that while peri-intubation cardiac arrest after endotracheal intubation in the ED is rare, there is a higher likelihood with patients with hypoxemia or pre-intubation shock.
“Looking at ED patients only, it is very clear the degree to which these factors play a role in cardiac arrest around airway management,” says Dr. Brown. “This paper,” he continues, “highlights how important it is to address these concerns before airway management is undertaken.” The takeaway from this article, according to Dr. Brown, is to “resuscitate before you intubate – unless intubation absolutely can’t wait.”
The study by Dr. April’s team struck a chord with the audience, who selected the article for this honor. Congratulations to all involved!
The “Airway Article of the Year” award show and Quarterly Airway Management Research Update webinars can be viewed on Airway World at www.airwayworld.com/webinars. Both are also available as podcasts on Airway World or in the iTunes Store (Airway World Podcasts). Questions about Airway World or the Quarterly Airway Management Research Updates can be sent to Terry T. Steele at [email protected].
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