Date of this Version
11-30-2022
Document Type
DNP Project
Abstract
Background: One of the most life-threatening complications during anesthesia is an unrecognized difficult airway. Difficult airway patients are more prone to intraoperative complications including airway edema, periods of hypoxia, and trauma to the airway. Failure to oxygenate due to an unpredicted difficult airway can result in permanent organ damage. Standardizing the method in which providers classify airways preoperatively including handheld ultrasonography could help decrease the incidence of unpredicted difficult intubations. This quality improvement project assessed whether anesthesia providers would benefit from an educational module on ultrasound parameters to differentiate difficult versus easy intubations to increase ultrasound airway anatomy knowledge, skill, and predictive abilities. There were three participants, all are certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). The project involved a pretest, PowerPoint presentation, and posttest. Based on the results, an educational module on airway assessment utilizing ultrasound parameters compared to no ultrasound parameters increases knowledge in ultrasound airway anatomy, skill, and predictive ability in detecting a difficult versus easy intubation.
Recommended Citation
Miller, Ann and Gold, Allison, "An Educational Module Explaining the Utilization of Airway Ultrasonography as Standard of Care for Preoperative Airway Assessment" (2022). Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing Student Projects. 152.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cnhs-studentprojects/152