Intubation Complication

Adults who are unconscious or severely ill and need a breathing tube connected to a ventilator are at high risk of developing a lung infection (pneumonia) within the first few days in the intensive care unit. This early pneumonia affects up to 30 to 50 % of certain high-risk patients, prolongs the time on the ventilator and in hospital, and increases the use of antibiotics. Two strategies are commonly used today to try to prevent this infection: a short, three-day course of an intravenous antibiotic, and removal of secretions from the airway with a sterile suction catheter. Both have limitations - antibiotics can favour the growth of resistant bacteria, and catheter suctioning is uncomfortable and may injure the airway. PIRÁMIDES is a small (60-patient) pilot study that compares the current practice with two non-invasive, mechanical alternatives for keeping the airway clear: a continuous low-pressure suction system built into a special breathing tube, and a device that produces a gentle, programmed "artificial cough" through the ventilator. Adult patients who are intubated for severe trauma, severe brain injury, stroke, resuscitated cardiac arrest or other causes of decreased consciousness are randomly assigned, in equal numbers, to one of the three approaches and followed for 14 days, with a final visit at day 90. The main goal is to find out which of the three strategies best prevents early pneumonia, and which provides the best overall result for patients when survival, severity of infection, need for additional antibiotics and side effects are considered together. To make these comparisons as fair as possible in an open-label study, an independent committee of doctors not involved in patient care reviews each suspected pneumonia case without knowing which strategy the patient received. The results will help design a larger trial to confirm which approach is safest and most effective for preventing early pneumonia in critically ill patients on a ventilator.

The aim of this study is to assess the benefits of using the Anchorfast device in reducing complications associated with intubation tube fixation, in terms of the rate of pressure ulcer development, the rate of intubation tube mobilization and the rate of VAP occurrence. If the hypothesis is confirmed, this project would enable the caregivers to optimize the current practice in the interests of both patients and caregivers. That's why the investigators have designed a real-life study, and will also be looking at the effect of care load on and caregiver satisfaction.

The investigators' overall objective is to assess the incidence of critical events related to tracheal intubation at all international study sites. Furthermore, the study will investigate the used intubation techniques and identify possible improvement measures to increase patient safety.

The aim of this retrospective cohort study is to compare the safety and efficacy of induction agents for tracheal intubation in critically ill adult patients.

The clinical importance of airway management has gained prominence in the last decade in most scientific societies with the aim of improving the standard of care. The WHO has focused guidelines for "Safety in Surgery", which attempt to encompass all methods that predict and recognise airway management risk and should be applied by the surgical team, and has therefore created and implemented a surgical checklist that can be useful in reducing the risk of unidentified difficulties. The same suggestion has been included in the Helsinki Declaration on Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology, signed by most European entities in cooperation with the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA), the European Board of Anaesthesiology (EBA-UEMS), and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiology (WFA). Confirmation of correct endotracheal tube (ET) placement is a crucial step in airway management, as unrecognised oesophageal intubation can have catastrophic consequences. Numerous methods are used to verify correct ET placement, including visual confirmation of tube passage through the vocal cords during laryngoscopy, chest wall expansion during ventilation, visualisation of the tracheal rings and carina using a flexible bronchoscope, auscultation, capnometry, capnography and chest radiography. These techniques vary in their degree of precision. Although capnography is considered the gold standard for confirming tracheal intubation, it has some important limitations. In recent years, ultrasonography has been introduced as the fifth pillar of the physical examination of the patient: inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation and insonation. For airway assessment and management, Point-of-Care UltraSound (PoCUS) has been incorporated into routine clinical practice, answering open diagnostic questions, aiding in differential diagnosis and guiding procedures. Thus, investigators propose a simple, quick and easy-to-learn approach for the interpretation of ultrasound imaging findings during airway management.

The investigators will screen all mechanically ventilated ED patients for study eligibility and will enroll all consecutive patients satisfying inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study design is a pragmatic, multicenter, stepped wedge cluster randomized trial, enrolling at five sites over a 3-year period, divided into six time periods of six months. Prior to the study, each site will be randomized to their position within the design. One site will cross to the intervention period (i.e. succinylcholine as default neuromuscular blocker) every six months from the 2nd to 6th time period. Cluster order will be determined by computer-based randomization. To begin, each site will be exposed to control conditions; by the end of the study, each site will be exposed to intervention conditions. Patients in the control phase will receive usual care, and this phase will be entirely observational. After six months, a site will enter a 2-month transition phase. In this phase, the investigators will implement the intervention, similar to how they have implemented other ED-based interventions for mechanically ventilated patients. The investigators will engage and educate ED clinicians on the importance of AWP prevention and the study objectives. The intervention framework relies on the use of "nudges", without restricting choice. The use of neuromuscular blockers (i.e. "paralytic" medications) is already part of routine care in the ED in order to facilitate endotracheal intubation and initiation of mechanical ventilation for patients with acute respiratory failure. The two most common neuromuscular blockers used in the ED are succinylcholine and rocuronium. The preliminary data show a strong association between rocuronium (a longer-acting neuromuscular blocker) use and AWP. Therefore, this study aims to improve care by educating caregivers on AWP and the use of the neuromuscular blockers, which are already routinely used, and studying that process in a rigorous fashion. The default neuromuscular blocker in the intervention phase will be succinylcholine. Succinylcholine will be the default over rocuronium because: 1) it has safely been the default neuromuscular blocker of choice in the ED for \>40 years ; 2) its 5-minute duration of action greatly reduces AWP risk; 3) the preliminary data regarding an increased risk of AWP with rocuronium and 4) ED rocuronium use has increased despite no patient-centered studies showing benefit over succinylcholine. Passive alerts (i.e. graphics, pocket cards) will also be strategically placed in the ED, and active alerts will be used as reminders before every nursing shift (i.e. "the huddle"). After this transition phase, the site will begin the intervention phase, and patients will again receive clinician-directed care, just after the intervention.

The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of a personalized intubation planning tool, the Personalized INtubation Safety (PINS) Bundle on intubation procedural safety and clinical outcomes among patients intubated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting.

Advanced airway interventions are common high risk, high stakes events for children in intensive care units (ICU) and emergency departments (ED), with risk for life and health threatening consequences.

The purpose of the study is to implement a patient-provider dyad tailored, Electronic Health Record (EHR)-informed, digitized Smart Checklist as a Quality Improvement (QI) intervention to support bedside clinician teams to reduce Adverse Airway Outcomes (AAO) across 6 diverse pediatric intensive care units (ICUs).

This prospective observational study evaluates the impact of propofol and ketamine on the risk of cardiovascular collapse during induction for endotracheal intubation in critically ill patients. Induction agents play a crucial role in managing hemodynamic stability, particularly in this vulnerable population. Propofol, known for its vasodilatory and myocardial depressant effects, has been associated with significant hypotension during induction. Conversely, ketamine, with its sympathomimetic properties, is often considered a safer alternative for hemodynamic stability. In addition to comparing the incidence of cardiovascular collapse-defined as severe hypotension or cardiac arrest-this study examines the relationship between these induction agents and shock indices, including systolic shock index, diastolic shock index, age-adjusted shock index, and modified shock index. These parameters will provide a more detailed understanding of the hemodynamic effects of each agent and their clinical implications. The findings aim to guide induction agent selection to optimize outcomes in critically ill patients.

Tracheal intubation in the intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with high incidence of difficult intubation and complications. Videolaryngoscopes (VLs) devices have been proposed to improve airway management, and the use of VLs are recommended as first-line or after a first-attempt failure using direct laryngoscopy in ICU airway management algorithms. Although until relatively few years ago there were doubts about whether videolaryngoscopes had advantages over direct laryngoscopy for endotracheal intubation (ETI) in critically ill patients, two recent studies (DEVICE (1), INTUBATE (2)), and a Cochrane review (3) have confirmed that videolaryn should be used?, and what is the best blade? . There are two types of blades commonly used with videolaryngoscopes: the "Macintosh" blade with a slight curvature, and hyperangulated blades. The "Macintosh" blades have a lower angle of vision, but they have the advantage of being similar to the blades commonly used in direct laryngoscopy, making them easy to use for the person performing the ETI. Hyperangulated blades have a greater angle of vision, improving glottic visualization, especially in patients with an anterior glottis. However, the need to overcome this angulation could potentially hinder the passage of the endotracheal tube to the vocal cords. It is unknown if either blade has any advantage for intubating critically ill patients.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if using a novel nasogastric tube assisted placement system (NCKU-NG system) can more accurately place the nasogastric tube at the optimal position in the stomach compared to conventional blind insertion techniques in adult inpatients requiring nasogastric tube placement. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does the NCKU-NG system improve the accuracy of nasogastric tube placement at the optimal gastric position compared to standard blind insertion? * Does the NCKU-NG system reduce the rate of misplacement (such as entry into the airway or inadequate gastric depth), number of repeated attempts, and complication rate compared to the conventional method? * Can estimation of nasogastric tube length using the NCKU-NG system provide a more reliable reference than external measurement or X-ray? Researchers will compare patients randomized to nasogastric tube insertion with the NCKU-NG system (intervention arm) versus conventional blind insertion following standard external measurement methods (control arm) to see if the NCKU-NG system improves placement accuracy and reduces adverse events. Participants will: * Be randomized to one of two groups: * Intervention group: Receive nasogastric tube insertion using the NCKU-NG system (video-assisted real-time visualization, with active confirmation of passage through the esophagogastric junction and final position in the stomach based on sidehole location). * Control group: Receive traditional nasogastric tube blind bedside insertion based on standard measurement (eg. Nose-Earlobe-Xiphoid + 10 cm). * All procedures will use the same material nasogastric tube (16 French polyurethane radiopaque tube). * Undergo confirmation of tube position by X-ray within 8 hours post-insertion for both groups. * Have the following outcomes assessed: * Placement accuracy (percentage of tubes placed at optimal predefined gastric position) * Number of placement attempts and failures * Rate of inadvertent airway or inadequate placement * Incidence of complications (e.g., aspiration, pneumothorax, gastrointestinal tract injury) * Correlation between video-assisted measurement and X-ray estimation of intragastric length

Misplacement of endotracheal tube (ETT) can have devastating complications for patients, some of which include respiratory failure, atelectasis, and pneumothorax. There are a number of ways to verify the correct placement of ETT, with the stethoscope auscultation being commonly used despite its low accuracy (60-65%) in distinguishing tracheal from bronchial intubation (4-6). The gold standard techniques include Chest X Ray or fiberoptic bronchoscope (7-8), with a recent study showing point-of-care ultrasound. However, these techniques are expensive, time-consuming, often not readily available and require substantial training before users can reliably utilize them. Given intubation is often performed in urgent clinical settings, a technique that can reliably yet efficiently localize ETT would be beneficial. Tele-auscultation system via Core stethoscope (Eko, Berkeley, CA) has been shown to be effective in identifying pathologic heart murmur (10) yet its potential use in guiding the correct placement of ETT has not been explored. We set out to study the suitability of Core stethoscope in detecting the correct placement of ETT.

The purpose of this clinical study is to determine the effectiveness and safety of Infasurf® administered through the InfasurfAero™, a novel oral airway delivery device specifically designed to give Infasurf in a less complicated way and without the need for a breathing tube or interrupting nasal respiratory support.

Neurogenic dysphagia occurs with disruption of neurological systems or processes involved in the execution of coordinated and safe swallowing. It is common in patients with neurological diseases, in particular in patients treated in Intensive Care Units (ICU) who are intubated (up to 62%) and / or tracheotomised (up to 83%). Dysphagia is one of the most common and most dangerous symptoms of many neurological diseases. In addition, neurogenic dysphagia can have a significant impact on quality of life, medication efficacy, and malnutrition. Dysphagia is currently treated conservatively on evidence-based exercises, individually adapted to each patient. In the recent years pharyngeal electrostimulation has been established and shown a positive impact on outcome. In fact, this type of therapy has not only become an addition to the existing therapy, but an important alternative for patients difficult to treat by other means. The Phagenyx® is a medical device, which has lately been used more frequently in multiple hospitals for treatment of neurogenic dysphagia. For nearly two decades pharyngeal electrostimulation has been further developed and optimised. This therapy initiates changes in the swallowing motor cortex through neuroplasticity as well as local changes in peripheral sensory architecture associated with swallowing. Bath and colleagues (2020) recently reported the efficacy of pharyngeal electrostimulation (Phagenyx®) in various neurological conditions. As a result, of current published studies, the use of pharyngeal electrostimulation probe, in selected patients, with neurological diseases with moderate to severe neurogenic dysphagia will be evaluated. This trial will initially start as quality assurance project with the aim to extent it into a monocentric based register study. The Investigators aim to validate the effectiveness of pharyngeal electrostimulation for the treatment of moderate to severe neurogenic dysphagia by systematically recording specific dysphagia-relevant parameters. At present, it is still uncertain to what extent patients with neurogenic dysphagia in the context of a non-acute neurological disease could benefit from this method. The research questions: Does the use of the pharyngeal electrostimulation probe have an influence on the outcome of dysphagia in patients with moderate to severe neurogenic dysphagia? How long after therapy, can the use of the pharyngeal electrostimulation probe lead to oral food intake and/or removal of a tracheal cannula?

Securing the airway through endotracheal intubation (ETI) is a fundamental skill for anaesthetists. It is used during surgery, in the intensive care unit, during periprocedural anaesthesia and in emergency medicine. The clinical relevance of airway management is demonstrated in particular by the fact that the main cause of serious anaesthesia-related complications lies in the area of airway management. increasing technological developments in recent years (e.g. video laryngoscopy \[VL\]) aim to reduce the complication rate in the area of airway management. however, there are currently a large number of VLs available, which differ massively in their application. Therefore, it is essential to systematically collect data and develop structured training in airway management, taking into account current technological developments.While endotracheal intubation is traditionally performed with a direct laryngoscope, indirect video laryngoscopy, with chip-based camera technology at its tip, has been introduced across the board in recent years and is now part of standard clinical and preclinical equipment. Doctors in advanced training are trained with a focus on direct laryngoscopy; the use of and training in indirect video laryngoscopy does not follow any standards; in addition, the decision as to which method of securing the airway is chosen has so far been the responsibility of the individual doctor in anaesthesiology, although there is a tendency for the VL to be associated with a higher success rate in the first intubation attempt, the so-called "first-pass success".The main aim of this clinical prospective, randomised controlled trial is to train anaesthetists in advanced training in conventional direct laryngoscopy on the one hand and indirect video laryngoscopy (VL) on the other, with a focus on tracking the progress of their skills after 200 intubations with regard to first-pass success.

Indirect video laryngoscope tracheal intubation with the GlideScope (Verathon Inc., Bothell, USA) has become a well-established technique in emergency and clinical anaesthesia, offering first-pass intubation success rates comparable to those achieved with direct laryngoscopy. Different video laryngoscopes vary significantly in design, including blade shape, mobility, and camera operation, which can affect patient outcomes. Two video laryngoscopes with hyperangulated blades include the GlideScope (Verathon Inc., Bothell, USA) and the visionPRO (HEINE® Optotechnick, Gilching, Germany). The Glidescope comprises an external monitor connected to a medical-grade plastic handle which is compatible with reusable and disposable blades. The newer visionPro comprises a reusable anodized aluminum integrated monitor that is attached to the camera/handle which is compatible with disposable blades. The hyperangulated blade of the VisionPro is a unique combination of previously designed laryngoscope blades meant to increase performance. The introduction of this new hyperangulated blade design in the VisionPro raises the need to compare its performance against the established GlideScope. The aim of this pilot study is to generate initial data to evaluate whether the use of the visionPRO (HEINE® Optotechnick, Gilching, Germany) provides a non-inferior first-pass success rate compared with the GlideScope (Verathon Inc., Bothell, USA) in surgical patients with an expected normal airway undergoing general anaesthesia The investigators hypothesize that tracheal intubation using the HEINE visionPRO will achieve a similar frequency of failed intubation and airway complications. This study plans to recruit 100 patients.

This study aims to train an AI for video-directed endotracheal intubation (VITION) to recognise the anatomical structures of the upper airway during video-directed endotracheal intubations.

The general aim of the study is to observe whether the use of the Mc Grath™ videolaryngoscope instead of direct laryngoscopy can represent, as in the case of the single-lumen tube, an added value in the placement of the double-lumen tube for surgical procedures involving one-lung ventilation, making intubation on the first attempt more likely and quicker. Secondary objectives include evaluating the presence of an advantage of the Mc Grath™ videolaryngoscope over direct laryngoscopy for the correct placement of the double-lumen tube, the need for additional maneuvers during the intubation procedure, and the presence of intra- and post-procedural complications.

The frequency of oxygen desaturation during emergency intubation is not uncommon. However, the significance and clinical sequalae of hypoxia during emergency intubation in critically ill, non-trauma patients is not known. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate neurologic function post-intubation of critically ill, non-trauma patients. Providing knowledge on whether the degree of hypoxia during emergency intubation is associated with worse neurologic outcomes, will guide clinical practice to ameliorate that level of hypoxia