Journal article
Management of the Normal and Difficult Pediatric Airway: Unique Challenges in the Time of COVID-19
Current surgery reports (Philadelphia, PA), Vol.11(6), pp.144-153
2023
DOI: 10.1007/s40137-023-00359-8
PMCID: PMC9984748
PMID: 37125393
Abstract
Purpose of ReviewThis review focuses on the challenges faced by acute care healthcare workers in the management of the normal and difficult pediatric airway during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these protocols and practices evolved during the pandemic. The current state of knowledge on timing of surgery and anesthesia is also discussed.Recent FindingsIn the early days of the pandemic, information about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and disease process was scarce. Governmental, healthcare, and professional organizations created several guidelines to protect invaluable healthcare workers from the contagious virus while also delivering appropriate care to children with COVID-19. With the emergence of new studies and the deployment of new life-saving COVID-19 vaccines and other therapies, these guidelines evolved. The use of aerosol containment devices such as aerosol boxes and flexible barrier techniques was found to be ineffective in reliably containing virus particles while posing potential harm to both healthcare workers and patients. Also, the definition of aerosol-generating and dispersing medical procedures was vastly broadened. To date, use of appropriate personal protection equipment and COVID-19 vaccination are the most effective ways to protect healthcare workers and safely manage children infected with SARS-CoV-2 who require airway intervention.Evidence-based public health measures and appropriate personal protective equipment remain the best way to protect both healthcare workers and patients. As the virus and population evolve and COVID-19 vaccines become more widely available, clinicians must be willing to adapt to the emerging evidence of their impact on how safe pediatric perioperative care is delivered.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Management of the Normal and Difficult Pediatric Airway: Unique Challenges in the Time of COVID-19
- Creators
- Edgar Kiss - The University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterAnnery Garcia-Marcinkiewicz - Univ Penn, Perelman Sch Med, Dept Anesthesiol & Crit Care Med, Philadelphia, PA USAJohn Zhong - The University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterMatthew Roberts - The University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterNeethu Chandran - The University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterRhae Battles - The University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterRita Saynhalath - The University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterIamze Agdgomelashvili - Tbilisi State Medical UniversityPatrick Olomu - The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Current surgery reports (Philadelphia, PA), Vol.11(6), pp.144-153
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- DOI
- 10.1007/s40137-023-00359-8
- PMID
- 37125393
- PMCID
- PMC9984748
- ISSN
- 2167-4817
- eISSN
- 2167-4817
- Number of pages
- 10
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2023
- Academic Unit
- Anesthesia
- Record Identifier
- 9984656606402771
Metrics
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