Application of Wei's nasopharynx airway combined with electrically-operated flexible scope for transnasal tracheal intuba-tion in children with difficult airways
Objective To explore the feasibility and safety of the application of Wei's nasopharyngeal airway combined with electrically-operated flexible scope for transnasal tracheal intubation in children with difficult airways.Methods A total of 40 chil-dren with difficult airway,aged 8-12 years,who underwent surgery who underwent surgery under general anesthesia with tracheal intu-bation in Jinjiang Hospital from July 2021 to July 2023 were selected.According to the random number table method,they were divid-ed into two groups(n=20):a Wei's nasopharynx airway combined with electrically-operated flexible scope group(group W)and a direct tracheal intubation with electrically-operated flexible scope group(group D).No muscle relaxants were administered before airway opening.In group W,anesthesia was induced by 8%sevoflurane+8 Umin oxygen flow by mask inhalation+2 p.g/kg remifentanil by in-travenous injection.When the children's bispectral index(BIS)was<60,the Wei's nasopharyngeal airway was inserted into one side of the nasal cavity and an anesthesia assistant performed hand-controlled constant-frequency supra-glottal jet ventilation through the naso-pharyngeal airway,while anesthesia physicians used an electrically-operated flexible scope to intubate through the other side of the na-sal cavity.In group D,anesthesia was induced by 8%sevoflurane+8 Umin oxygen flow by mask inhalation.When the children's BIS was<75,they were intubated through one side of the nasal cavity with an electrically-operated flexible scope,and the scope was with-drawn when the pulse oximetry saturation(SpO2)dropped to 90%,and oxygen was administered under pressure by mask.Then they were intubated again when the SpO2 rebounded to more than 99%.Then,mean arterial pressure(MAP),heart rate,minimum SpO2,the number of intubation,the success rate of one-time intubation,total time to intubation,BIS value at intubation,and the incidence of post-operative complications were recorded in the two groups before intubation(T0)and at the moment of successful intubation(T1).Re-sults Compared with group D,group W showed decreases in BIS value at intubation,the number of intubation,and total time to intu-bation(all P<0.05),and decreases in the success rate of one-time intubation(all P<0.05).At T1,the MAP and heart rate of patients in group W were lower than those in group D(all P<0.05),and the minimum SpO2 was higher than that in group D(P<0.05).There was no statistical difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups(all P>0.05).Conclusions Compared with direct tracheal intubation with electrically-operated flexible scope,the combination of Wei's nasopharyngeal airway and transnasal tracheal intubation with electrically-operated flexible scope has reduced hemodynamic fluctuations in children with difficult airway,group W exhibited less hemodynamic fluctuation,higher minimum SpO2 values,and a higher success rate for single-attempt intubation,with shorter total intubation time and without increased postoperative complications,but it required the involvement of an anesthesiolo-gist assistant.