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Airway Management in Trauma: Defining Expertise

  • Anesthesia for Trauma (JW Simmons, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Prompt attention to airway management is a fundamental component of the approach to trauma anesthesiology. While anesthesiologists manage the greatest number of airways in their training and practice, a variety of medical providers perform airway management in the trauma population (i.e., paramedics, emergency physicians, anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists). Rates of successful intubation can vary widely between groups; therefore, a definition of expertise is required to develop training plans, as well as standards for maintenance of proficiency. While competency is challenging to define in any field, the data suggest that individuals with the greatest experience achieve the highest level of success. Given that anesthesiologists manage several thousand airway encounters throughout their training and careers, their leadership as subject matter experts is essential to development of training curricula in airway management of all varieties. Consensus on training of less experienced providers, as well as tasking of the most difficult cases to the most experienced provider, is imperative for successful airway management in trauma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Harborview Medical Center / University of Washington, Box 359724, 325 Ninth Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98104, USA

    Andreas Grabinsky

  2. Departments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, and Emergency Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, 680 Dulles Suite, Philadelphia, PA, 19014, USA

    Nancy Vinca

  3. Trauma Anesthesiology, Keck School of Medicine at USC, 1520 San Pablo Street, Suite 3451, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA

    Joshua M. Tobin

Authors
  1. Andreas Grabinsky
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  2. Nancy Vinca
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  3. Joshua M. Tobin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joshua M. Tobin.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Anesthesia for Trauma.

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Grabinsky, A., Vinca, N. & Tobin, J.M. Airway Management in Trauma: Defining Expertise. Curr Anesthesiol Rep 6, 1–5 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-015-0131-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-015-0131-8

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