Skill Retention After Simulated Difficult Airway Training

Many rescue techniques have been promoted to improve the likelihood of successful intubation, ventilation, or both in patients with difficult or failed intubation, but skill degradation is a concern because these techniques are used infrequently in clinical practice. Researchers assessed the effects of simulated airway skills training on compliance with guidelines for management of unanticipated difficult intubation and on skill performance over time in 21 anesthesiologists with variable airway experience.

The anesthesiologists responded to two simulator-based scenarios: cannot intubate/can ventilate and cannot intubate/cannot ventilate; researchers assessed each participant’s performance against an ideal management plan (derived from the Di…