Difficult airway management in COVID times

Coping with airway emergencies: Get, Set, Go!

“… An alternative approach recently described by James DuCanto is suction-assisted laryngoscope airway decontamination (SALAD) technique. [ 27 ] It involves insertion of Yankauer rigid catheter through the right angle of mouth to suction out all the secretions, insertion of a videolaryngoscope while continuing suction through the catheter, reinsertion of catheter through the left angle of mouth to continue suctioning followed by insertion of the endotracheal tube through the trachea. [ 28 ] …”

“…Emergency intubation is often needed for these patients in ICU or ED. [ 27 33 ] In addition, different kinds of AE (obstructed, traumatized, or failed airway) may develop in these patients. The resulting situation would be much more challenging due to multiple factors like severe respiratory disease with imminent hypoxaemia, lack of adequate experienced manpower, non-availability of appropriate equipment, poor communication and exhaustion due to personal protective equipment (PPE).…”

“…In addition, failed extubation has been reported in COVID patients on ventilatory support due to a variety of reasons that is, upper tracheal and subglottic edema, epiglottic or subglottic ulcers. [ 27 ] The principle of management of such cases is to maximise preparation to ensure that the first attempt of intubation becomes successful, while minimising the aerosol exposure to the health care workers. The recommended steps to be followed while handling these patients are summarised in Table 6 .…”

“…The recommended steps to be followed while handling these patients are summarised in Table 6 . [ 27 33 ]…”

Corona pandemic: Bringing Anaesthesiologist's professional role and other skills to the fore

“…These commentaries have emphasized considerably that with the emergence of new evidence in changing times, these guidelines also do have a scope to change and modify. [ 5 6 ]…”