Guidelines for Elective Pediatric Fiberoptic Intubation

Podsumowanie

We describe guidelines to perform a safe and efficient elective fiberoptic intubation in pediatric patients while maintaining spontaneous ventilation.

Streszczenie

Fiberoptic intubation in pediatric patients is often required especially in difficult airways of syndromic patients i.e. Pierre Robin Syndrome. Small babies will desaturate very quickly if ventilation is interrupted mainly to high metabolic rate. We describe guidelines to perform a safe fiberoptic intubation while maintaining spontaneous breathing throughout the procedure. Steps requiring the use of propofol pump, fentanyl, glycopyrrolate, red rubber catheter, metal insuflation hook, afrin, lubricant and lidocaine spray are shown.

Protokół

1. Equipment Preparation

1. Med fusion pump for propofol infusion
2. Place nasotracheal tubes under heating mattress
3. Connect camera to scope and check orientation
4. Three movements affect the view through the scope:
   1. In and out.
   2. Rotation using a two-handed maneuver.
   3. Flexion and extension of the tip of the scope.

2. Additional Equipment

1. Fentanyl 0.5-1.0 mcg/kg
2. 12F red rubber suction catheter
3. Glycopyrrolate 0.1-0.2 mg
4. Metal insufflation hook
5. Afrin nasal spray
6. Lubricant
7. Lidocaine 2% or 4% for spraying nares

3. Patient Preparation

1. Perform mask induction maintaining spontaneous ventilation.
2. Start IV and give fentanyl and glycopyrrolate IV.
3. Give propofol bolus 1 mg/kg and begin propofol infusion 200 mcg/kg/min.
4. Tape eyes before spraying Afrin to avoid dilation of pupils.
5. Spray Afrin and lidocaine in both nares.
6. Mask ventilate the patient to distribute Afrin and lidocaine distally.
7. Pass red rubber catheter into both nares to check patency.
8. Choose the more patent nostril for the fiberoptic scope.
9. Keep the red rubber in the other nostril with tip in the hypopharynx for O₂.
10. Use insufflation hook to connect red rubber to the circuit and administer 2 L/min of O₂ (don't insufflate high flows into the hypopharynx).

4. Actual Fiberoptic Intubation

1. Take connector off the nasotracheal tube.
2. Advance tube all the way up the lubricated fiberoptic scope.
3. Clean fiberoptic tip with alcohol
4. Put a slight curve on the end of the scope to follow the floor of the nose.
5. Thread the fiberoptic to the larynx blindly.
6. Look for any recognizable anatomic structures. FREEZE!
7. Bring anatomic structures into the center of the field and keep them there.
8. When approaching the vocal cords, give a bolus of propofol 1 mg/kg IV.
9. Once through the cords, make a downward turn into the trachea.
10. Follow tracheal rings to the level of the carina.
11. You may require an additional propofol bolus of 1 mg/kg IV.
12. Make sure the fiberoptic scope tip is in a neutral position.
13. Thread the ETT. If the ETT gets hung up at the larynx, give a 360° turn of the tube to spin it into the trachea.

5. Representative Results

This video shows an efficient technique for elective fiberoptic intubation in pediatric patients that is easily teachable to residents and fellows and reproducible. The main key is to maintain spontaneous ventilation at all times. Good equipment preparation before hand is also important.

Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.

Dyskusje

Fiberoptic intubation in pediatric patients with difficult airway could be a challenging task^1,2 and the presence of craniofacial dysmorphisms presents additional challenges to tracheal intubation³. It is more difficult to perform this procedure in pediatric patients than in adults mainly because of smaller airways in pediatric patients which make the manipulation of the fiberoptic more difficult since any small movement of the tip of the firberoptic scope runs the risk of touching the mucosa of the...

Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.

Materiały

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Med fusion pump for propofol infusion
Fentanyl 0.5-1.0 mcg/kg
12F red rubber suction catheter
Glycopyrrolate 0.1-0.2 mg
Metal insufflation hook
Afrin nasal spray
Lubricant
Lidocaine 2% or 4% for spraying nares