Difficult Airway Response Team (DART) and Airway Emergency Outcomes : A Retrospective Quality Improvement Study

© 2023 The Authors. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation..

OBJECTIVE: Difficult airways can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in the event of a delay in securing the airway. To improve the airway metrics at our institution, we implemented a multidisciplinary team of airway providers to respond to difficult and emergent airways, or the Difficult Airway Response Team (DART). The purpose of the present study is to assess the feasibility of a DART program at a tertiary care center.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study evaluating the outcomes of emergent airway cases using the DART protocol.

SETTING: Single tertiary academic care center.

METHODS: In August 2019, a DART program was implemented at a tertiary academic medical center. In order to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of this system, data were collected to assess DART outcomes through chart review and surveys following each event, and analyzed in Microsoft Excel.

RESULTS: A total of 161 DART events (average 4.6/month) took place from August 2019 to June 2022. Anesthesiologists secured the airway in 71 events (51%), otolaryngologists in 38 (27%), and pulmonary/critical care in 12 (9%). Seventy-three activations were not labeled as a difficult airway. Pre-DART, 19 cases required more than 3 attempts to secure the airway compared to 11 cases after DART. Transoral intubation was the most common intervention. Thirteen cases required surgical intervention.

CONCLUSION: Implementing a multidisciplinary team-based approach for managing emergent difficult airways at a tertiary care institution was feasible and resulted in a decreased number of airway attempts in difficult airway patients. Continuous process improvement is essential for the ongoing enhancement of DART systems.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:169

Enthalten in:

Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery - 169(2023), 2 vom: 27. Aug., Seite 325-332

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Kuhar, Hannah N [VerfasserIn]
Bliss, Alessandra [VerfasserIn]
Evans, Kimberly [VerfasserIn]
Besecker, Beth [VerfasserIn]
Spitzer, Carleen [VerfasserIn]
Lyaker, Michael [VerfasserIn]
Schofield, Minka [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Airway response team
Difficult airway
Emergency airway
Journal Article
Multidisciplinary team

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 22.02.2024

Date Revised 22.02.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1002/ohn.358

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM356290042