Airway Tube Exchanger Techniques in Morbidly Obese Patients

Udomtecha, Danai

doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/968642

Anesthesiology Research and Practice

On this page

Abstract Introduction References Copyright Related Articles

Review Article | Open Access

Volume 2012 | Article ID 968642 | https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/968642

Airway Tube Exchanger Techniques in Morbidly Obese Patients

Danai Udomtecha¹

Academic Editor: Lebron Cooper

Received26 Jul 2011

Revised27 Oct 2011

Accepted07 Nov 2011

Published09 Feb 2012

Abstract

Morbidly obese patients may present a challenge during airway management. When airway tube exchange is required, it can even be more challenging than the primary intubation. With the increasing prevalence of morbid obesity over the years, there will be increasing numbers of these patients presenting for surgical procedures, including ones that require endotracheal tube exchanges. It is therefore important for anesthesiologists to be familiar with options and limitations of the airway tube exchanger techniques.

1. Introduction

Obesity has become a public health crisis in the United States. The prevalence of obesity doubled between 1976–1980 and 1999-2000, increasing from 15.1 percent to 30.9 percent [1]. Results from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicate that an estimated 34.2% of US adults aged 20 years and over are overweight, 33.8% are obese, and 5.7% are extremely obese [2]. With the prevalence of obesity and morbid obesity on the rise, all healthcare specialties will see more and more of these patients. There will be increasing numbers of obese patients presenting for surgical procedures, including ones that require endotracheal tube exchanges.

Obese patients may present a challenge during airway management. However, a debate continues to whether morbidly obese patients are more difficult to intubate than the general population. Juvin et al. reported the incidence of difficult intubation to be 15.5% in morbidly obese patients, compared with 2.2% in controls [3]. Gonzalez et al. found the difficult intubation rate of 14.3% in obese patients versus 3% in nonobese patients [4]. In contrast, Ezri et al. and Lundstrøm et al. reported that BMI was weakly associated with difficult intubation in morbidly obese patients, when compared to nonobese patients [5, 6]. Among morbidly obese patients, Brodsky et al. and Neligan et al. demonstrated that increased BMI was not an independent risk factor of difficult intubation [7, 8].

Morbidly obese patients have decreased functional capacity (FRC), increased alveolar-to-arterial (A-a) oxygen gradient [9, 10], and increased oxygen consumption [11]. Therefore, even if airway management—including airway tube exchange—is not difficult, they will desaturate faster than their leaner counterpart after cessation of ventilation. Patients whose airway management is difficult will be even more at risk of desaturation.

Due to concerns of possible difficult airway and/or rapid desaturation after cessation of spontaneous ventilation, some anesthesiologists opt to perform awake fiberoptic intubation (AFI) in morbidly obese patients, especially in those with very large BMIs or with other associated characteristics that predict difficult intubation [12]. When the primary intubation is done with AFI, one misses the opportunity to test the difficulty of mask ventilation, as well as of laryngoscopy and intubation. If one chooses to perform an AFI for primary intubation in the first place because there are concerns that conventional laryngoscopy could be difficult, it will then be illogical to assume that airway exchange with conventional laryngoscopy will be easy.

As for airway management using direct laryngoscopy, it has been demonstrated that, when using direct laryngoscopy for intubation, a “ramped” position or HELP (head-elevated laryngoscopy position: head, shoulders, and upper body elevated so that the suprasternal notch and the external auditory meatus are in the same horizontal imaginary line) provides significantly improved laryngoscopic views in this patient population, when compared to standard sniffing position [13, 14]. Ramping the patient for primary laryngoscopy is generally done by placing blankets, or premanufactured elevation pillow [15], on the surgical table before moving the patient onto it. This ramp will have to be removed for most surgical procedures. When the airway device needs to be exchanged, reinserting the ramp underneath an anesthetized, intubated morbidly obese patient may be very difficult and can lead a loss of airway, as well as injuries to anesthesiologists and OR personnel. When reinsertion of the ramp is not possible, a nondifficult primary intubation in the “ramped” position could turn into a difficult one when the patient is in sniffing position.

From the above examples, when the primary intubation has been successful with other methods other than conventional laryngoscopy in standard sniffing position, one should bear in mind that the tube exchange could be more difficult than the primary intubation.

This paper describes airway tube exchanging techniques, besides conventional direct laryngoscopy, in morbidly obese patients, in order to secure the airway and successfully change between a single-lumen tube (SLT) and a double-lumen tube (DLT) when necessary.

The circumstances in some of the references are either airway exchanging techniques in nonobese patients with other causes of difficult airway or primary intubation techniques in morbidly obese patients. There has not been literature specifically dedicated to airway tube exchanging techniques in morbidly obese patients; therefore some extrapolation is required from the existing evidence.

The examples of situations when airway tubes need to be exchanged include, but are not limited to the following: (1) an LMA needs to be upgraded to an endotracheal tube; (2) an SLT needs to be changed to a DLT for lung isolation (e.g., due to anesthesiologist’s preference for lung isolation or failure of bronchial blocker to provide adequate isolation); (3) a DLT needs to be exchanged for a SLT (e.g., postoperative mechanical ventilation is required after intraoperative lung isolation with a DLT).

It should be noted that when lung isolation is required, an SLT does not have to always be exchanged for a DLT. Using a bronchial blocker with the indwelling SLT is another alternative, and the endotracheal tube will not need to be exchanged at all.

2. Use of Airway Exchange Catheter

An airway exchange catheter (AEC) can be used to facilitate exchanging from an SLT to a DLT, or vice versa. This device has a center hollow channel and a universal fit adapter through which oxygen insufflation or jet ventilation can be administered to allow more time for the tube exchanging process (Figure 1). Literature is not available regarding effectiveness of oxygen supplementation via this hollow channel in morbidly obese patients. One could presume that it may not be as effective as in nonobese population as lower lung compliance will reduce oxygen flow via the AEC [16].

(a)

(b)

Jet ventilation uses high pressure (10–50 psi), and there have been reports of tension pneumothoraces caused by jet ventilation via the hollow lumen of the AEC in nonmorbidly obese patients [17–19]. Even oxygen insufflations with low driving pressure could potentially cause pneumothorax especially in the presence of upper airway obstruction that impairs the exhalation of the insufflated gas volume [20]. Morbid obesity with obstructive sleep apnea, or simply with redundant tissue in the upper airway, could be one of the examples of such obstruction.

AECs are commercially available in various lengths and sizes, and careful selection to serve the purpose is important. It must be of sufficient length (at least 83 cm long) to ensure tracheal introduction of the DLT [21]. Despite the length required, AECs should not be advanced against resistance or deeper than 24 cm from the lip to avoid airway laceration or perforation [22, 23].

After inserting the AEC into the first (indwelling) tube to the appropriate depth, the tube is then extubated. One should be careful not to pull the AEC out from the trachea along with the first tube. When the second tube (the tube that will be exchanged for) is railroaded over the AEC into the trachea, the tip of the tube may impinge at the glottis and will not advance into the trachea. To reduce the chance of impingement, use an AEC with a relatively large outer diameter (OD) compared to the internal diameter (ID) of the second tube [24, 25] (Figure 2). When changing from a DLT to an SLT, the AEC that fits through one lumen of the DLT (the first tube) will be relatively small compared to the ID of the SLT (the second tube) and will likely result in impingement. A taper-tipped tube (Flex-Tip; Parker Medical, Englewood, CO, USA) (Figure 3) [26] may be useful in this situation [27]. Alternatively, 2 AECs can be used—one through the tracheal lumen and one through the bronchial lumen of the indwelling DLT (Figure 4(a)). The combined OD of the 2 AECs will be relatively large compared to the ID of the SLT that will be railroaded over them and will help reduce the possibility of impingement [28] (Figure 4(b)). The size and fit of the AEC in the DLT and the SLT must be tested in vitro before the exchange.

(a)

(b)

(a)

(b)

(a)

(b)

When impingement does occur, 90° counterclockwise rotation of the tube may help disengage it [29]. Concomitant use of a laryngoscope will help lift the soft tissue—that would otherwise cause the AEC and the second tube to curve—and facilitate passage of the tube over the AEC into the trachea [30, 31].

3. Role of Videolaryngoscopes/Optical Laryngoscopes

There has not been literature demonstrating the role of videolaryngoscopes/optical laryngoscopes in facilitating endotracheal tube exchange in morbidly obese patients. However, existing evidence suggests that this type of equipment, by providing visualization of the vocal cords, could be used for that purpose.

There have been case reports of successful endotracheal tube exchange, using such equipment, in nonobese patients with difficult intubation. Smith et al. [32] reported that a WuScope (Achi Corporation, San Jose, CA, USA) helped them to successfully exchange from a DLT to an SLT under vision, without having to use an AEC. Chen et al. [33] used a GlideScope (Saturn Biomedical System Inc, Burnaby, BC, Canada) to exchange from an SLT to a DLT over an AEC. Poon et al. [34] reported successful intubation of a DLT over an AEC using an Airway Scope (Pentax, Tokyo, Japan).

Various types of videolaryngoscopes/optical laryngoscopes have been shown to improve intubation condition in morbidly obese patients [35–39]. This equipment provides visualization of the vocal cords, as well as of the endotracheal tube advancing into the trachea, and could make endotracheal tube exchange with an AEC more secure.

4. Summary

Airway management in morbidly obese patients can be challenging. It is important to first secure the airway either with direct laryngoscopy in head-elevated laryngoscopic position, videolaryngoscope, or AFI. When another different type of airway tube is required for one-lung ventilation or for postoperative mechanical ventilation after the conclusion of the surgical procedure, the technique used for the primary intubation may not be feasible in anesthetized morbidly obese patients. Videolaryngoscopes/optical laryngoscopes could be very useful in facilitating airway tube exchange. Nevertheless, use of AECs remains the predominant method of exchange for morbidly obese patients, and it is important for anesthesiologists to be familiar with using these devices.

It should be noted that airway tube exchange with an AEC in morbidly obese patients is not a benign process and should be done only when necessary and with extreme caution. An AEC inserted too deep into the trachea could lacerate the tracheobronchial tree. Due to poor respiratory mechanics and increased oxygen consumption, morbidly obese patients could desaturate quickly during the exchange process. When that happens, mask ventilation with an AEC in place could be difficult. Jet ventilation or oxygen insufflations via the AEC could incur risks of pneumothorax, especially if there is upper airway obstruction that hinders exhalation. The positioning/technique used during the primary intubation may not be feasible during the tube exchange, making the exchange more difficult—a videolaryngoscope/optical laryngoscope could help mitigate this problem. After the first tube is extubated, the second tube may not easily pass over the AEC into the vocal cords, especially if the primary intubation was difficult and traumatic. During the exchange process, one could accidentally pull the AEC from the trachea and end up with an extubated, swollen, difficult airway in a patient who quickly desaturates.

References

Y. Wang and M. A. Beydoun, “The obesity epidemic in the United States—gender, age, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic characteristics: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis,” Epidemiologic Reviews, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 6–28, 2007.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
“NCHS Health E-Stat: Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Extreme Obesity Among Adults: United States, Trends 1960–1962 Through 2007-2008,” 2011, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_adult_07_08/obesity_adult_07_08.htm.
View at: Google Scholar
P. Juvin, E. Lavaut, H. Dupont et al., “Difficult tracheal intubation is more common in obese than in lean patients,” Anesthesia and Analgesia, vol. 97, no. 2, pp. 595–600, 2003.
View at: Google Scholar
H. Gonzalez, V. Minville, K. Delanoue, M. Mazerolles, D. Concina, and O. Fourcade, “The importance of increased neck circumference to intubation difficulties in obese patients,” Anesthesia and Analgesia, vol. 106, no. 4, pp. 1132–1136, 2008.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
T. Ezri, B. Medalion, M. Weisenberg, P. Szmuk, R. D. Warters, and I. Charuzi, “Increased body mass index per se is not a predictor of difficult laryngoscopy,” Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 179–183, 2003.
View at: Google Scholar
L. H. Lundstrøm, A. M. Møller, C. Rosenstock, G. Astrup, and J. Wetterslev, “High body mass index is a weak predictor for difficult and failed tracheal intubation: a cohort study of 91,332 consecutive patients scheduled for direct laryngoscopy registered in the danish anesthesia database,” Anesthesiology, vol. 110, no. 2, pp. 266–274, 2009.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
J. B. Brodsky, H. J. M. Lemmens, J. G. Brock-Utne, M. Vierra, and L. J. Saidman, “Morbid obesity and tracheal intubation,” Anesthesia and Analgesia, vol. 94, no. 3, pp. 732–736, 2002.
View at: Google Scholar
P. J. Neligan, S. Porter, B. Max, G. Malhotra, E. P. Greenblatt, and E. A. Ochroch, “Obstructive sleep apnea is not a risk factor for difficult intubation in morbidly obese patients,” Anesthesia and Analgesia, vol. 109, no. 4, pp. 1182–1186, 2009.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
H. G. Jense, S. A. Dubin, P. I. Silverstein, and U. O'Leary-Escolas, “Effect of obesity on safe duration of apnea in anesthetized humans,” Anesthesia and Analgesia, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 89–93, 1991.
View at: Google Scholar
P. Pelosi, M. Croci, I. Ravagnan et al., “Respiratory system mechanics in sedated, paralyzed, morbidly obese patients,” Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 82, no. 3, pp. 811–818, 1997.
View at: Google Scholar
J. A. Dempsey, W. Reddan, B. Balke, and J. Rankin, “Work capacity determinants and physiologic cost of weight-supported work in obesity,” Journal of applied physiology, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 1815–1820, 1966.
View at: Google Scholar
C. A. Hagberg, C. Vogt-Harenkamp, and J. Kamal, “A retrospective analysis of airway management in obese patients at a teaching institution,” Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 348–351, 2009.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
J. S. Collins, H. J. M. Lemmens, J. B. Brodsky, J. G. Brock-Utne, and R. M. Levitan, “Laryngoscopy and morbid obesity: a comparison of the "sniff" and "ramped" positions,” Obesity Surgery, vol. 14, no. 9, pp. 1171–1175, 2004.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
S. L. Rao, A. R. Kunselman, H. G. Schuler, and S. Desharnais, “Laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation in the head-elevated position in obese patients: a randomized, controlled, equivalence trial,” Anesthesia and Analgesia, vol. 107, no. 6, pp. 1912–1918, 2008.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
J. M. Rich, “Use of an elevation pillow to produce the head-elevated laryngoscopy position for airway management in morbidly obese and large-framed patients,” Anesthesia and Analgesia, vol. 98, no. 1, pp. 264–265, 2004.
View at: Google Scholar
S. D. Gaughan, J. L. Benumof, and G. T. Ozaki, “Quantification of the jet function of a jet stylet,” Anesthesia and Analgesia, vol. 74, no. 4, pp. 580–585, 1992.
View at: Google Scholar
C. Nunn, J. Uffman, and S. M. Bhananker, “Bilateral tension pneumothoraces following jet ventilation via an airway exchange catheter,” Journal of Anesthesia, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 76–79, 2007.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
D. S. McDonald and J. B. Liban, “A serious complication with an airway exchange catheter,” Clinical Intensive Care, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 36–37, 1997.
View at: Google Scholar
A. S. Baraka, “Tension pneumothorax complicating jet ventilation via a cook airway exchange catheter,” Anesthesiology, vol. 91, no. 2, pp. 557–558, 1999.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
L. V. Duggan, J. A. Law, and M. F. Murphy, “Brief review: supplementing oxygen through an airway exchange catheter: efficacy, complications, and recommendations,” Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 560–568, 2011.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
J. H. Campos, “Lung isolation techniques for patients with difficult airway,” Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 12–17, 2010.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
L. DeLima and M. Bishop, “Lung laceration after tracheal extubation over a plastic tube exchanger,” Anesthesia & Analgesia, vol. 73, pp. 350–351, 1991.
View at: Google Scholar
V. Thomas and S. M. Neustein, “Tracheal laceration after the use of an airway exchange catheter for double-lumen tube placement,” Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 718–719, 2007.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
H. Makino, T. Katoh, S. Kobayashi, H. Bito, and S. Sato, “The effects of tracheal tube tip design and tube thickness on laryngeal pass ability during oral tube exchange with an introducer,” Anesthesia and Analgesia, vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 285–288, 2003.
View at: Google Scholar
T. Asai and K. Shingu, “Difficulty in advancing a tracheal tube over a fibreoptic bronchoscope: incidence, causes and solutions,” British Journal of Anaesthesia, vol. 92, no. 6, pp. 870–881, 2004.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
from Parker Medical webpage, 2011, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Parker-Medical-Inc/190208417691737?sk=photos.
M. S. Kristensen, “The Parker Flex-Tip tube versus a standard tube for fiberoptic orotracheal intubation: a randomized double-blind study,” Anesthesiology, vol. 98, no. 2, pp. 354–358, 2003.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
A. Suzuki, M. Uraoka, K. Kimura, and S. Sato, “Effects of using two airway exchange catheters on laryngeal passage during change from a double-lumen tracheal tube to a single-lumen tracheal tube,” British Journal of Anaesthesia, vol. 99, no. 3, pp. 440–443, 2007.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
T. Katsnelson, E. A. M. Frost, E. Farcon, and P. L. Goldiner, “When the endotracheal tube will not pass over the flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope,” Anesthesiology, vol. 76, no. 1, pp. 151–152, 1992.
View at: Google Scholar
J. L. Benumof, “Airway exchange catheters: simple concept, potentially great danger,” Anesthesiology, vol. 91, no. 2, pp. 342–344, 1999.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
S. Dogra, R. Falconer, and I. P. Latto, “Successful difficult intubation. Tracheal tube placement over a gum-elastic bougie,” Anaesthesia, vol. 45, no. 9, pp. 774–776, 1990.
View at: Google Scholar
C. E. Smith, D. Davenport, and A. Morscher, “Exchange of a double-lumen endobroncial tube using fier-optic laryngoscopy (WuScope) in a difficult intubation patient,” Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, vol. 18, p. 398, 2006.
View at: Google Scholar
A. Chen, H. Y. Lai, P. C. Lin, T. Y. Chen, and M. H. Shyr, “GlideScope-assisted double-lumen endobronchial tube placement in a patient with an unanticipated difficult airway,” Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 170–172, 2008.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
K. H. Poon and E. H. C. Liu, “The Airway Scope for difficult double-lumen tube intubation,” Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, vol. 20, no. 4, p. 319, 2008.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
I. Bathory, J. C. Granges, P. Frascarolo, and L. Magnusson, “Evaluation of the video intubation unit in morbid obese patients,” Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 55–58, 2010.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
G. Dhonneur, W. Abdi, S. K. Ndoko et al., “Video-assisted versus conventional tracheal intubation in morbidly obese patients,” Obesity Surgery, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 1096–1101, 2009.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
S. K. Ndoko, R. Amathieu, L. Tual et al., “Tracheal intubation of morbidly obese patients: a randomized trial comparing performance of Macintosh and Airtraq laryngoscopes,” British Journal of Anaesthesia, vol. 100, no. 2, pp. 263–268, 2008.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
R. M. Browning and M. W. M. Rucklidge, “Tracheal intubation using the Pentax Airway Scope videolaryngoscope following failed direct laryngoscopy in a morbidly obese parturient,” International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 200–201, 2011.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
J. Marrel, C. Blanc, P. Frascarolo, and L. Magnusson, “Videolaryngoscopy improves intubation condition in morbidly obese patients,” European Journal of Anaesthesiology, vol. 24, no. 12, pp. 1045–1049, 2007.
View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar

Copyright

Copyright © 2012 Danai Udomtecha. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

PDF Download Citation

Download other formats

Order printed copies

Views

4706

Downloads

1596

Citations