THE AIRWAY PROCEDURE TENT BACKGROUND: from a Frontline Clinician
by Amy Keim, MS, PA-C | Associate Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine | George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences | George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates
When COVID-19, otherwise known as SARSCOV-2, struck the US, it was met with decades of emergency preparedness. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-COV-1) epidemic, as well as the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-COV) had highlighted the challenges of managing a modern outbreak of a novel virus that easily crossed international boundaries and resulted in acute respiratory distress with high fatality rates. Despite what we learned, the enormous amount of research, advances in medical care, expertise that grew out of those experiences, and development of robust emergency management practices, SARS-COV-2 has presented new and unanticipated challenges that have blindsided our healthcare system. We are rapidly identifying new problems and innovating to overcome them. This includes innovating to stop the spread of the virus. COVID-19 virus particles are spread through the respiratory tract by aerosolization. Page 16 | May Newsletter | Nova Labs
This aerosolization of the virus can occur when someone with the viral infection coughs, talks, or breaths. A nearby individual can contract the virus through their mouth, nose, or eyes. In the hospital setting, patients with novel airborne respiratory viruses like COVID-19 are managed using Airborne Precautions. This is a set of very specific precautions taken by the healthcare team to limit the spread of the virus to other patients and staff. It includes placing a patient in a negative pressure room (air pulls from the room into a special filter system) and wearing a high level of personal protective equipment (PPE), including an N95 mask. When a patient with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 is in severe respiratory distress or cardiopulmonary arrest, life-saving interventions are rapidly deployed by the healthcare team. These interventions include procedures such as CPR or endotracheal intubation, which significantly
