The opinion of health employees for difficult airway in emergency department: a questionnaire survey
Murat Durusu1, Selahattin Özyürek2, Gül Pamukçu3, Kerem Pekbüyük4, Betül Akbuğa3, Ahmet Demircan3, Murat Eroğlu5, Mehmet Eryılmaz6
1Diyarbakır Asker Hastanesi Acil Servisi, Diyarbakır
2Diyarbakır Asker Hastanesi, Ortopedi Ve Travmatoloji Kliniği, Diyarbakır
3Gazi Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Acil Tıp Anabilim Dalı, Ankara
4Hacettepe Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Acil Tıp Anabilim Dalı, Ankara
5Erzurum Asker Hastanesi Acil Servis, Erzurum
6Gülhane Askeri Tıp Akademisi, Acil Tıp Anabilim Dalı, Ankara
Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the airway management and difficult airway procedures with nine multiple choice questions directed to seventy emergency department staff.
Materials and Methods: Nine multiple choice questions were used for the questionnaire. The first five questions were used to define the airway management and the current practices in managing difficult airway and the remaining four were used to define the opinion of participants in particular situations.
Results: Seventy participants composed of physicians and allied health care personnel were included in the study. The results showed that emergency physicians were responsible for airway management in 70% of the emergency departments. However, there was no standard algorithm established in 40% of the sites. 27% of participants reported that the bag valve mask ventilation was not safe enough due to the risk of aspiration. 95.7% of the participants reported that they occasionally need alternative airway devices, however 31.4% of them did not have these devices in use. All of the participants agreed that alternative airway devices should be available in emergency departments and 91.4% stated that they should also be available for use in the prehospital environment.
Conclusion: It is important to take the opinions of emergency department staff into consideration for determining the needs of emergency medical practice.