Supraglottic Airway Devices in Pediatric Difficult Airway Situations
Supraglottic Airway Devices in Pediatric Difficult Airway Situations
The purpose of the study is to compare three supraglottic airway devices (Combitube,
 Easytube, laryngeal mask airway) to endotracheal intubation in a simulated difficult airway
 scenario in a pediatric manikin.
Supraglottic airway devices (SAD) have been designed for the "cannot intubate, cannot
 ventilate" scenario in prehospital as well as intrahospital settings and are utilized in
 medical emergency services and emergency departments all over the world, not only for
 anticipated and unanticipated difficult airway situations but also as an airway device used
 by non-anesthesiologists or in situations where only limited practice is possible. Securing
 an airway in a pediatric emergency situation is crucial. Unfortunately, pediatricians usually
 lack the required skills and regular practice to perform endotracheal intubation (ETI, which
 is the gold standard for securing an airway) quickly and safely. SADs would pose a safe and
 feasible alternative to ETI. However, no studies on this topic are available. The
 investigators therefore wanted to evaluate three different SADs (Combitube, Easytube,
 laryngeal mask airway) in simulated difficult airway situations in a pediatric manikin in
 comparison to ETI.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  pediatricians

 -  residents

 -  interns

 -  written informed consent form

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  none