SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND…
Highlighted Anesthesiology Research in Texas
University of Texas Medical School at Houston Department of Anesthesiology
FLEXIBLE OPTICAL INTUBATION VIA THE AMBU AURA‐I VERSUS BLIND INTUBATION VIA THE SINGLE USE INTUBATING LMA – A PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL
Praveen Maheshwari, MD, Carlos Artime, MD, Katherine C. Normand, MD, Lara Ferrario, MD, Alfonso Altamirano, MD, Hassan Aijazi, MD, Carin A. Hagberg, MD
Introduction: These are preliminary results from a study comparing 2 intubating supraglottic airway (SGA) devices.
Methods: Thirty‐three patients were consented and randomized:
15 were intubated using the AMBU® Aura‐I with aScope and 17 with the ILMA. One patient was excluded because of faulty AMBU monitor. Time for placement, ET insertion, total intubation time, number of intubation attempts, success rate, and ease of intubation were recorded.
Results: There was a significant difference between groups regarding ET insertion: 73.4 ± 64.9 seconds with the Aura‐I, 36.0 ± 30.2 seconds with the ILMA. Total intubation time was not significantly different. Higher success rate on first attempt was found in the AMBU group (93% vs. 88%).
Discussion: Preliminary data suggests that intubation with the ILMA is slightly faster, but there is a higher rate of successful intubation on first attempt using the Aura‐i. The Aura‐i may be a viable alternative to the ILMA.
Texas Tech University Health Care Center, El Paso, Department of Anesthesiology
Departmental investigations in Anesthesiology at TTUHSC El Paso are divided between the Research Laboratories and the Clinical Studies Program.
Jun Zhang, PhD, ScD, directs a number of NIH‐funded multi‐year laboratory investigations of the genetics, embryogenesis, and the molecular and cellular mechanisms of production of cerebral cavernous malformations in a unique piscine model he has developed.
Ahmed Badr, MD, Chair, has a number of open studies with external funding that look at various aspects of traumatic brain injury, stroke, and intracerebral hemorrhage.
Various investigators including Will McIlvaine, MD, and several of our resident physicians are working on an evaluation of the utility of a pre‐anesthetic scoring system on predicting various clinical outcomes in the perioperative period.
Tom Poulton, MD, Chief of Pediatric Anesthesia, and Dr. McIlvaine have an open clinical study looking at selected aspects of the limits of the voluntary control of ventilation.
Dr. Poulton is coordinating several clinical studies at the El Paso Children’s Hospital, including investigations of aspects of ultrasound‐guided regional anesthesia in infants and children, the feasibility of using the perioperative setting for general medical screening of medically underserved pediatric patients, the impact of peri‐anesthetic immune function alterations on immunization in infants and children in the perioperative period, and a study of certain injuries affecting children in rural agricultural settings.
