Personal protective equipment (PPE) for both anesthesiologists and other airway managers: principles and practice during the COVID-19 pandemic

Personal protective equipment (PPE) for anesthesiologists: the need for national guidelines

“…In this issue of the Journal, Lockhart et al present a clear and concise approach to personal protective equipment (PPE) for the anesthesiologist and other airway managers. 1 In particular, their paper places special emphasis on PPE for aerosol-generating medical procedures (AGMP), with intubation being the highest risk procedure for aerosol production.…”

“…présentent une approche claire et concise des équipements de protection individuelle (EPI) pour les anesthésiologistes et les autres personnes prenant en charge les voies aériennes. 1 Leur article met une emphase particulière sur les EPI pour les interventions médicales générant des aérosols (IMGA), l'intubation étant l'intervention à plus haut risque de production d'aérosols.…”

Tracheal intubation in patients with COVID-19

“…4 Endotracheal intubation is a high-risk, aerosol-generating medical procedure that requires high-risk PPE, including an N95 respirator or equivalent. 3 Speaking may become muffled and communication more difficult once PPE is donned. 3…”

“…It is difficult to detect self-contamination. 3 Use a doffing checklist, read each step aloud and remove PPE as directed by a spotter. 3 Interruptions during this process should be minimized.…”

Response to: Management of Traumatic Spinal Fracture in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Situation

“…C For a high-risk patient who needs emergency spine surgery, the surgeon could co-manage the airway with the anesthesiologists [5] and the COVID-19 team [1] (Fig. 1B).…”