The rise and fall of the COVID-19 aerosol box through the lens of Twitter

The global COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected the practice of anesthesiology and has catalyzed innovation concerning workplace safety. As experts in advanced airway management, anesthesiologists have been thrust into the “line of fire” of this highly contagious respiratory disease, and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) has been essential. Early in the pandemic, while understanding of SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility was still limited, untested ideas intended to provide additional protection for anesthesiologists were quickly disseminated via social media. One example was the “aerosol box” designed to contain airborne virus spread during airway procedures. We aimed to characterize the rapid rise in popularity of the aerosol box and eventual decline through the lens of Twitter (San Francisco, CA, USA) and research publications that lagged behind social media

Patrón termográfico en tiempo real para el monitoreo de reperfusión testicular intraoperatorio en caso de torsión testicular

Paciente de 5 años de edad con historia de 8 horas de torsión testicular es llevado a cirugía. Se realiza registro imaginonlógico termográfico seriado en tiempo real del momento en que se realiza la destorsión utilizando una cámara infrarroja FLIR One. La temperatura escrotal previa a la cirgía era de 43,6°C del lado afectado y 41,7°C del lado sano. La temperatura corporal del paciente era de 36,8°C. Inmediatemente el testiculo fue extraído y previo a la destorsión, la temperatura era de 31,5°C. A los 30 segundos de la destorsión la temperatura aumentó a 34,3°C. El uso de termografía intraoperatoria permite identificar cambios discretos que se correlacionan con aumento del flujo testicular. Estudios futuros se enfocarán en establecer variables predictorias de sobrevida del parenquima testicular al igual que definir variables intraoperatorias para definir manejos quirurgicos como orquiectomia, preservación con flap de tunica vaginal entre otras.294-298A 5-year-old patient presents to the emergency department with testicular torsion. Intraoperative sequential infrared thermographic images were registered in real-time using a FLIR One (FLIR Systems, Inc., Wilsonville, OR, US) infrared camera. The temperatures of the scrotum and the testis prior to scrotal exploration were 43.6°C on the affected side, and 41.7°C on the contralateral side. The core temperature of the patient was 36.8°C. Immediately after the tunica vaginalis had been opened and the testis had been brought out through the incision, the temperature of the testicle was 31.5°C. After 30 seconds of being detorted, the temperature increased to 34.3°C. The use of intraoperative infrared thermographic imaging helps to detect discrete changes in testicular temperature, which suggests it may be useful to objectively assess reperfusion. Future studies will require more patients to correlate postoperative blood flow to the injured testis as well as volume changes after surgery to see if the intraoperative thermography findings can be used as a predictive tool for postoperative outcomes

Difficult or Impossible Facemask Ventilation in Children With Difficult Tracheal Intubation: A Retrospective Analysis of the PeDI Registry

BACKGROUND: Difficult facemask ventilation is perilous in children whose tracheas are difficult to intubate. We hypothesised that certain physical characteristics and anaesthetic factors are associated with difficult mask ventilation in paediatric patients who also had difficult tracheal intubation. METHODS: We queried a multicentre registry for children who experienced difficult or impossible facemask ventilation. Patient and case factors known before mask ventilation attempt were included for consideration in this regularised multivariable regression analysis. Incidence of complications, and frequency and efficacy of rescue placement of a supraglottic airway device were also tabulated. Changes in quality of mask ventilation after injection of a neuromuscular blocking agent were assessed. RESULTS: The incidence of difficult mask ventilation was 9% (483 of 5453 patients). Infants and patients having increased weight, being less than 5th percentile in weight for age, or having Treacher-Collins syndrome, glossoptosis, or limited mouth opening were more likely to have difficult mask ventilation. Anaesthetic induction using facemask and opioids was associated with decreased risk of difficult mask ventilation. The incidence of complications was significantly higher in patients with difficult mask ventilation than in patients without. Rescue placement of a supraglottic airway improved ventilation in 71% (96 of 135) of cases. Administration of neuromuscular blocking agents was more frequently associated with improvement or no change in quality of ventilation than with worsening. CONCLUSIONS: Certain abnormalities on physical examination should increase suspicion of possible difficult facemask ventilation. Rescue use of a supraglottic airway device in children with difficult or impossible mask ventilation should be strongly considered

Airway management in neonates and infants: European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and British Journal of Anaesthesia joint guidelines.

Airway management is required during general anaesthesia and is essential for life-threatening conditions such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Evidence from recent trials indicates a high incidence of critical events during airway management, especially in neonates or infants. It is important to define the optimal techniques and strategies for airway management in these groups. In this joint European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) and British Journal of Anaesthesia (BJA) guideline on airway management in neonates and infants, we present aggregated and evidence-based recommendations to assist clinicians in providing safe and effective medical care. We identified seven main areas of interest for airway management: i) preoperative assessment and preparation; ii) medications; iii) techniques and algorithms; iv) identification and treatment of difficult airways; v) confirmation of tracheal intubation; vi) tracheal extubation, and vii) human factors. Based on these areas, Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes (PICO) questions were derived that guided a structured literature search. GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology was used to formulate the recommendations based on those studies included with consideration of their methodological quality (strong '1' or weak '2' recommendation with high 'A', medium 'B' or low 'C' quality of evidence). In summary, we recommend: 1. Use medical history and physical examination to predict difficult airway management (1С). 2. Ensure adequate level of sedation or general anaesthesia during airway management (1B). 3. Administer neuromuscular blocker before tracheal intubation when spontaneous breathing is not necessary (1С). 4. Use a videolaryngoscope with an age-adapted standard blade as first choice for tracheal intubation (1B). 5. Apply apnoeic oxygenation during tracheal intubation in neonates (1B). 6. Consider a supraglottic airway for rescue oxygenation and ventilation when tracheal intubation fails (1B). 7. Limit the number of tracheal intubation attempts (1C). 8. Use a stylet to reinforce and preshape tracheal tubes when hyperangulated videolaryngoscope blades are used and when the larynx is anatomically anterior (1C). 9. Verify intubation is successful with clinical assessment and end-tidal CO2 waveform (1C). 10. Apply high-flow nasal oxygenation, continuous positive airway pressure or nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation for postextubation respiratory support, when appropriate (1B)

Effect of wearing a face mask on hand-to-face contact by children in a simulated school environment: the Back-to-School COVID-19 Simulation Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Wearing a face mask in school can reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission but it may also lead to increased hand-to-face contact, which in turn could increase infection risk through self-inoculation. Objective To evaluate the effect of wearing a face mask on hand-to-face contact by children while at school. Design, Setting, and Participants This prospective randomized clinical trial randomized students from junior kindergarten to grade 12 at 2 schools in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during August 2020 in a 1:1 ratio to either a mask or control class during a 2-day school simulation. Classes were video recorded from 4 angles to accurately capture outcomes. Interventions Participants in the mask arm were instructed to bring their own mask and wear it at all times. Students assigned to control classes were not required to mask at any time (grade 4 and lower) or in the classroom where physical distancing could be maintained (grade 5 and up). Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was the number of hand-to-face contacts per student per hour on day 2 of the simulation. Secondary outcomes included hand-to-mucosa contacts and hand-to-nonmucosa contacts. A mixed Poisson regression model was used to derive rate ratios (RRs), adjusted for age and sex with a random intercept for class with bootstrapped 95% CIs. Results A total of 174 students underwent randomization and 171 students (mask group, 50.6% male; control group, 52.4% male) attended school on day 2. The rate of hand-to-face contacts did not differ significantly between the mask and the control groups (88.2 vs 88.7 events per student per hour; RR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.78-1.28; P = >.99). When compared with the control group, the rate of hand-to-mucosa contacts was significantly lower in the mask group (RR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.07-0.21), while the rate of hand-to-nonmucosa contacts was higher (RR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.08-1.82). Conclusions and Relevance In this clinical trial of simulated school attendance, hand-to-face contacts did not differ among students required to wear face masks vs students not required to wear face masks; however, hand-to-mucosa contracts were lower in the face mask group. This suggests that mask wearing is unlikely to increase infection risk through self-inoculation. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0453125