It’s not always The Airway! – Learning Points in Airway Management

Authors: L Fraser, E Sproson, A Baldock, G Jones, A Burgess and H Ismail-Koch*

DOI: 10.23880/ooaj-16000136

Volume 1, Issue 3

Abstract

Task fixation has been identified in aviation and medical emergency management as an obstruction to successful resolution of a situation1, 2. The 4th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Difficult Airway Society- Major complications of airway management in the United Kingdom (NAP4) suggest that the most frequent human factors contributing to death were: poor communication, poor teamwork, poor leadership and task fixation3. We consider three cases where focus on the airway distracted from non-upper airway causes of hypoxia.

Keywords: renal cysts; endotracheal tube; laryngoscope

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