Supraglottic devices: a possible role in prehospital toxic mass casualty event?
Rapidly progressive respiratory failure is the leading cause of death from inhalation of toxic chemical warfare agents. In an expected chaotic scenario, direct laryngoscopic tracheal intubation is unlikely to be easily and quickly performed due to shortage of medical personnel experienced with laryngoscopy and/or reduced dexterity imposed by the protective gear worn by the caregivers. Supraglottic devices have increasingly been used for emergent airway control in prehospital settings, thus avoiding the need for laryngoscopy. This review summarizes Medline English literature search on supraglottic devices and their use in the prehospital setting or in mass casualty event focusing on their potential role for emergent airway control in the setup of toxic inhalation.
Ben-Abraham
Ron
R
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel. rba1@netvision.net.il
Shapira
Itzhak
I
Kalmovich
Boaz
B
Rudick
Valery
V
Weinbroum
Avi A
AA
D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D004189:Disaster Planning; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D017214:Laryngeal Masks; D054527:Mass Casualty Incidents / Q000517:prevention & control*
D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents