title: Elective tracheal intubation in cervical spine injuries.
abstract: Patients presenting for surgical stabilisation of an unstable cervical spine are at risk of sustaining a further iatrogenic spinal cord injury during intubation of the trachea. Controversy exists regarding the optimal anaesthetic technique for securing the airway. We reviewed the techniques employed for intubating the trachea in our hospital over a five year period. Tracheal intubation was achieved using two different techniques: awake fibre-optic intubation with local anaesthesia, and general anaesthesia via the intravenous or inhalational route with neuromuscular blockade. Forty five patients were included. 16 patients demonstrated a pre-operative neurological deficit. Awake fibre-optic intubation was used in 27 cases, general anaesthesia was employed via the intravenous route in 17 cases and the inhalational route in 1 case. Weighted traction was employed in all cases to immobilize the cervical spine during intubation. There was no new neurological sequelae with any of these techniques. Our study suggests that there is no optimal anaesthetic technique for intubating the trachea in patients with cervical spine injuries and it is noteworthy that in line traction was used in every case.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McCrory
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Blunnie
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Moriarty
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007494:Ireland; D007828:Laryngoscopy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009407:Nerve Block / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000601:surgery; D014143:Traction