- Published
- 01 July 2020
- Journal article
Emergency tracheal intubation in 202 patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: lessons learnt and international expert recommendations
- Authors
-
- Source
- British Journal of Anaesthesia
Abstract
Tracheal intubation in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients creates a risk to physiologically compromised patients and to attending healthcare providers. Clinical information on airway management and expert recommendations in these patients are urgently needed. By analysing a two-centre retrospective observational case series from Wuhan, China, a panel of international airway management experts discussed the results and formulated consensus recommendations for the management of tracheal intubation in COVID-19 patients. Of 202 COVID-19 patients undergoing emergency tracheal intubation, most were males (n=136; 67.3%) and aged 65 yr or more (n=128; 63.4%). Most patients (n=152; 75.2%) were hypoxaemic (SaO2 <90%) before intubation. Personal protective equipment was worn by all intubating healthcare workers. Rapid sequence induction (RSI) or modified RSI was used with an intubation success rate of 89.1% on the first attempt and 100% overall. Hypoxaemia (SaO2 <90%) was common during intubation (n=148; 73.3%). Hypotension (arterial pressure <90/60 mm Hg) occurred in 36 (17.8%) patients during and 45 (22.3%) after intubation with cardiac arrest in four (2.0%). Pneumothorax occurred in 12 (5.9%) patients and death within 24 h in 21 (10.4%). Up to 14 days post-procedure, there was no evidence of cross infection in the anaesthesiologists who intubated the COVID-19 patients. Based on clinical information and expert recommendation, we propose detailed planning, strategy, and methods for tracheal intubation in COVID-19 patients.
Rights
Under a Creative Commons license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Cite as
Yao, W., Wang, T., Jiang, B., Gao, F., Wang, L., Zheng, H., Xiao, W., Yao, S., Mei, W., Chen, X., Luo, A., Sun, L., Cook, T., Behringer, E., Huitink, J., Wong, D., Lane-Fall, M., McNarry, A., McGuire, B., Higgs, A., Shah, A., Patel, A., Zuo, M., Ma, W., Xue, Z., Zhang, L., Li, W., Wang, Y., Hagberg, C., O'Sullivan, E., Fleisher, L., Wei, H., Peng, Z., Liang, H. & Nishikawa, K. 2020, 'Emergency tracheal intubation in 202 patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: lessons learnt and international expert recommendations', British Journal of Anaesthesia, 125(1), pp. 28-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2020.03.026