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C H A L L E N G I N G
I N T U B A T I O N S
RECORDKEEPING
Document That Difficult Airway
F
lag histories of or potential for difficult airways on patients' charts, just as you
would for known allergies, says Heidi Koenig, MD, president of the Kentucky
Society of Anesthesiologists and professor of anesthesiology and perioperative
medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
When an intubation proves challenging, complete a standardized difficult airway form
that Dr. Koenig created to improve communication of airway troubles between providers
and facilities. The form includes checkboxes for noting the patient's body-mass index,
mouth-opening size, what took place during airway management, the Cormack/Lehane
laryngoscopic view, and the ultimate results of intubation and extubation.
Include the form in the patient's chart and send copies to the patient's home, his surgeon
and primary care physician. Sending written notification to patients and their loved
ones is important as they often are more
concerned after surgery about pain management, wound care and the logistics of
going home than they are about airway
jargon, says Dr. Koenig.
— Daniel Cook
ON THE WEB
Download a copy of Dr. Koenig's difficult airway letter
at www.outpatientsurgery.net/resources/forms.
professor of anesthesiology and pain management at the University of Texas Southwestern
Medical School in Dallas; the director of
perioperative medicine and ambulatory
anesthesia at Parkland Health and Hospital
Systems in Dallas; and on the board of
directors of the Texas Society of
Anesthesiologists and the Accreditation
Association for Ambulatory Health Care.
ON THE WEB
Download the references for this article
at www.outpatientsurgery.net/forms.
See the SAMBA consensus guidelines for
OSA patients at tinyurl.com/bhbmuhy.
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