Category Archives: Simulation

Should you use an introducer (bougie/stylet)?

While many of us would think this is a daft question, when we went hunting for high-quality evidence, it was not very forthcoming.  Hence:  science to the rescue!  Watch a brief (<120 second) overview of the study:

Kirsten Kingma and Ross Hofmeyr give a #litbit overview of their paper published open-access in Emergency Medicine Australasia comparing intubation with different introducers in a simulated easy and difficult airway.

What’s the bottom line?  We should always be using and introducer (bougie or stylet) when approaching a predicted difficult airway, and possibly for any emergency or rapid-sequence intubation… at least in manikins!  What’s needed next?  A robust RCT…

Nairobi Airway Course 2017: Photos

Some photos of the action at the Nairobi Surgical Skills Centre this week. Many thanks to the local faculty from the University of Nairobi and other institutions, the companies that supported use of the facilities and equipment, and the enthusiastic delegates!



Resources and notes from the course are available on the course page here

Bristol Advanced Simulation Instructor Masterclass (BASIM) in Cape Town

Although not an airway course, we have been greatly influenced by the methods used in BASIM for creating and undertaking airway simulations.  Highly recommended course presented by the master Dr David Grant himself.

More information about the course can be found on the BMSC site here.  To register for the workshops in Cape Town in March 2017, click this link.

 

How to build a breathing, bleeding cricothyroidotomy simulator

Jean-Christopher Ozenne (@JCOzenne) of Gouvieux, France has generously published this great video on how to build “The Mustache” – a breathing, bleeding cricothyroidotomy simulator – using cheap and ubiquitous equipment.  Can’t wait to try this one out…I particularly like the artistic touch.  To paraphrase V himself:  A cric trainer without bleeding is not a cric trainer worth having.

October Airway & Thoracics Skills Courses open for bookings!

The UCT Department of Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine in conjunction with OpenAirway is running the next set of airway and thoracic anaesthesia skills courses during October.  Information and bookings are now available via the Courses page here.  There are three back-to-back courses which build upon the skill sets:

  • Core Airway Skills – Suitable for any medical practitioner who may need to perform airway management, especially in an emergency setting.  This starts with the basics (such as airway assessment and face-mask ventilation) and covers everything up to airway rescue and surgical airways except fibreoptic intubation.
  • AEIOU – “Airway Endoscopy for Intubation and Other Uses” is for practitioners wanting to master videolaryngoscopy, learn the use of rigid intubating scopes and rigid bronchoscopy, and learn fibreoptic skills, including awake fibreoptic intubation.
  • Thoracic Anaesthesia Skills – Designed as a primer or refresher for anaesthetists who want to perform lung isolation and one-long ventilation, this course covers important topics like the physiology of OLV, lung separation and isolation techniques, practical uses of double-lumen tubes and bronchial blockers, and the approach to the thoracic patient with a difficult airway.

Co to the courses page for more information and to book a place!

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