Loading...
A supraglottic airway (SGA) device is often used in adults as a bridge to endotracheal intubation or rescue for failed intubation. However, data on their use in children is limited and mostly from case reports. To assess the effectiveness of SGAs for primary airway management in children with anticipated difficult intubation, researchers retrospectively reviewed electronic medical records for 77,272 children aged 1 day to 18 years undergoing general anesthesia at a single academic children's hospital over a 4-year period.
Investigators identified patients by searching records for markers of difficult airway, including ICD-9 codes for diagnoses associated with a difficult airway, the keyword “difficult airway,” and Cormack-Lehane grade ≥3. Ov…