DESI EM PROJECT - EPISODE 14 - THE ONE WITH "THE PHYSIOLOGICALLY DIFFICULT AIRWAY‪"‬ THE DESI EM PROJECT

A very Happy Doctors' Day to you all! In this episode I discuss some salient points regarding the physiologically difficult airway. There are many physicians I know who are still not aware regarding this concept that can kill patients as soon as we try and save them. Also - EZECON is being organised in Kolkata from 16-17th July,22 and it is going to be an academic feast for the residents. So do register for it. 

The references for reading up more on the physiologically difficult airways are as follows - 

1. Mosier JM, Joshi R, Hypes C, Pacheco G, Valenzuela T, Sakles JC. The Physiologically Difficult Airway. West J Emerg Med. 2015 Dec;16(7):1109-17. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2015.8.27467. Epub 2015 Dec 8. PMID: 26759664; PMCID: PMC4703154.

2. Weingart SD, Trueger NS, Wong N, Scofi J, Singh N, Rudolph SS. Delayed sequence intubation: a prospective observational study. Ann Emerg Med. 2015 Apr;65(4):349-55. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2014.09.025. Epub 2014 Oct 23. PMID: 25447559.

3. https://www.acepnow.com/article/crash-a-mnemonic-for-the-physiological-difficult-airway/

4. Myatra SN, Divatia JV, Brewster DJ. The physiologically difficult airway: an emerging concept. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2022 Apr 1;35(2):115-121. doi: 10.1097/ACO.0000000000001102. PMID: 35165233.

5. Cai SR, Sandhu MRS, Gruenbaum SE, Rosenblatt WH, Gruenbaum BF. Airway Management in an Anatomically and Physiologically Difficult Airway. Cureus. 2020 Sep 24;12(9):e10638. doi: 10.7759/cureus.10638. PMID: 33123451; PMCID: PMC7584327.

6. Kornas RL, Owyang CG, Sakles JC, Foley LJ, Mosier JM; Society for Airway Management’s Special Projects Committee. Evaluation and Management of the Physiologically Difficult Airway: Consensus Recommendations From Society for Airway Management. Anesth Analg. 2021 Feb 1;132(2):395-405. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000005233. PMID: 33060492.

7. Mosier, Jarrod M. “Physiologically Difficult Airway in Critically Ill Patients: Winning the Race between Haemoglobin Desaturation and Tracheal Intubation.” British Journal of Anaesthesia 125, no. 1 (July 2020): e1–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2019.12.001.

8. Scott Weingart, MD FCCM. EMCrit 325 – The Hypoxemic Difficult Airway and Preox Discussion with Jarrod Mosier. EMCrit Blog. Published on June 5, 2022. Accessed on June 30th 2022. Available at [https://emcrit.org/emcrit/hypoxemic-difficult-airway/ ].

9. Salim Rezaie, "An Emergency Difficult Airway Predictor Would be From HEAVEN", REBEL EM blog, January 31, 2018. Available at: https://rebelem.com/emergency-difficult-airway-predictor-heaven/.

10. Salim Rezaie, "Critical Care Updates: Resuscitation Sequence Intubation – Hypotension Kills (Part 1 of 3)", REBEL EM blog, September 26, 2016. Available at: https://rebelem.com/critical-care-updates-resuscitation-sequence-intubation-hypotension-kills-part-1-of-3/.

11. Salim Rezaie, "Critical Care Updates: Resuscitation Sequence Intubation – pH Kills (Part 3 of 3)", REBEL EM blog, October 3, 2016. Available at: https://rebelem.com/critical-care-updates-resuscitation-sequence-intubation-ph-kills-part-3-of-3/.