The impact of respiratory protective equipment on difficult airway management: a randomised, crossover, simulation study.

ABSTRACT: The current international COVID-19 health crisis underlines the importance of adequate and suitable personal protective equipment for clinical staff during acute airway management. This study compares the impacts of standard air-purifying respirators and powered air-purifying respirators during simulated difficult airway scenarios. Twenty-five anaesthetists carried out four different standardised difficult intubation drills, either unprotected (control), or wearing a standard or a powered respirator. Treatment times and wearer comfort were determined and compared. In the wearer comfort evaluation form, operators rated mobility, noise, heat, vision and speech intelligibility. All anaesthetists accomplished the treatment objectives of all study arms without adverse events. Total mean (SD) in

SUBMITTER: Schumacher J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7267320 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature