A new tracheal tube and methods to facilitate ventilation and placement in emergency airway management

SummaryThe “jet endotracheal tube” (JET) has been designed to facilitate emergency intubation in apnoeic or paralyzed patients with a difficult airway. We investigated the efficiency of jet ventilation to maintain adequate oxygenation and ventilation using the initially designed JET, either with its distal tip positioned above vocal cord and pointed directly at or 45° to the right of the vocal cord opening midline in 10 adult paralyzed pigs. The effectiveness of using end tidal carbon dioxide pressure (PetCO2), chest rise and breath sounds to facilitate tracheal placement of the JET blindly in a simulated difficult airway was studied. All complications of using the JET were noted. Jet ventilation with the distal tip of the JET pointed directly at, not 45° to the right of vocal cord opening midline, provides adequate oxygenation and ventilation during intubation. In a simulated difficult airway, PetCO2, chest rise and breath sounds were all effective methods to assist placement of the JET blindly, and the combination of all three methods works the best. No serious complications were detected with the use of the JET. Our results suggest that a correctly positioned JET guided by monitoring PetCO2, chest rise and breath sound provides adequate oxygenation and ventilation during intubation in apnoeic pigs, and facilitates the intubation blindly in a simulated difficult airway. No serious complications were observed using the JET in this study. In patients requiring emergency intubation, a JET with PetCO2 monitoring catheter and the instructions for use may be a useful addition to the airway management devices.