Management of surgical airway emergencies by junior ENT staff: a telephone survey.
OBJECTIVE
To determine levels of confidence in the management of surgical airway emergencies by junior ENT staff.


METHODS
Telephone survey.


METHODS
100 Senior House Officers (SHOs) from 100 hospitals in the UK, providing 24 hour first on-call emergency ENT cover.


METHODS
A list of questions was put to participants. The effects of different variables on confidence with airway emergencies and what SHOs considered to be adequate training were compared.


RESULTS
Most SHOs provided cover for the management of surgical airway emergencies. Many of the participants were not confident to handle airway emergencies or felt that their training was inadequate. As expected, the amount of previous experience in ENT and the ability to perform advanced airway procedures gave SHOs greater confidence, but attendance at airway courses did not.


CONCLUSIONS
Confidence in the management of airway problems is variable and does not correlate well with perceived adequacy of training. We suggest that systems of training in airway management are improved. Training issues may be better approached at an individual level, where deficiencies can be addressed.
Awad
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Z
Department of Otolaryngology, Southmead Hospital, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, UK. mail@zaidawad.com
Pothier
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D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000601:surgery*; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D004630:Emergencies; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000193:education*; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom