Practice
NIHR Signals
New airway device as good as tracheal tube insertion for out-of-hospital resuscitation
BMJ 2019; 364 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k5324 (Published 13 February 2019) Cite this as: BMJ 2019;364:k5324Editorial
NIHR’s research signals in The BMJ
Re: New airway device as good as tracheal tube insertion for out-of-hospital resuscitation
The airway devices described this first NIHR research signal are routinely used during general anaesthesia to maintain and protect the patient airway. Aspiration of gastric contents is a serious complication that can lead to morbidity and mortality. We would like to provide reassurance that the rates of aspiration, during routine anaesthesia for elective surgery, are several orders of magnitude less (1 in 4,000 [1]), than those quoted in this AIRWAYS-2 trial for patients in cardiac arrest (1 in 7).
The risks of aspiration are minimised by strict adherence to preoperative fasting times for solids and liquids.
1. Warner MA, Warner ME, Weber JG. Clinical significance of pulmonary aspiration during the peri-operative period, Anesthesiology , 1993, vol. 78 (pg. 56-62)
Competing interests: No competing interests