title: A pilot study of the Tele-Airway Management System in a hospital emergency department.
abstract: We developed a telemedicine system for remote guidance of emergency airway management called the Tele-Airway Management System (TAMS). In a pilot study we examined the usefulness of the TAMS for intubations of actual patients in a hospital emergency department. Twenty-five patients were allocated randomly either to a TAMS group or to an on-scene directed (OSD) group. A total of 12 were intubated using the TAMS. The mean time to intubation (TAMS 62 s vs. OSD 56 s) and the success rate was not different between the two groups (P > 0.05). There were two oesophageal intubations in the TAMS group and four in the OSD group, but this was not significantly different (P = 0.36). There were no mechanical or technical errors such as disconnection during use of the TAMS. The pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of the TAMS as an alternative to OSD. However, a larger study will be required to determine non-superiority or equivalence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Junho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Hyun Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Minhong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choa
authors.forename: Sun K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Jungchae
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004630:Emergencies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome