Emergency Airway Management: A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Cognitive Aids in Improving Outcomes and Provider Performance
<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Emergency airway management is a critical skill for healthcare professionals, particularly in life-threatening situations like “cannot intubate, cannot oxygenate” (CICO) scenarios. Errors and delays in airway management can lead to adverse outcomes, includin...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Clinics and Practice |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2039-7283/15/1/13 |
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| author | Raisa Chowdhury Ostap Orishchak Marco A. Mascarella Bshair Aldriweesh Mohammed K. Alnoury Guillaume Bousquet-Dion Jeffrey Yeung Lily Ha-Nam P. Nguyen |
| author_facet | Raisa Chowdhury Ostap Orishchak Marco A. Mascarella Bshair Aldriweesh Mohammed K. Alnoury Guillaume Bousquet-Dion Jeffrey Yeung Lily Ha-Nam P. Nguyen |
| author_sort | Raisa Chowdhury |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background/Objectives:</b> Emergency airway management is a critical skill for healthcare professionals, particularly in life-threatening situations like “cannot intubate, cannot oxygenate” (CICO) scenarios. Errors and delays in airway management can lead to adverse outcomes, including hypoxia and death. Cognitive aids, such as checklists and algorithms, have been proposed as tools to improve decision-making, procedural competency, and non-technical skills in these high-stakes environments. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive aids in enhancing emergency airway management skills among health professionals and trainees. <b>Methods:</b> A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted from February to March 2024. Studies examining the use of cognitive aids, such as the Vortex method, the ASA difficult airway algorithm, and visual airway aids, in emergency airway scenarios were included. Outcomes assessed included decision-making speed, procedural success rates, and non-technical skills. Data were extracted using standardized protocols, and the quality of included studies was appraised. <b>Results:</b> Five studies met inclusion criteria, encompassing randomized controlled trials, controlled studies, and mixed-methods research. Cognitive aids improved decision-making times (reduced by 44.6 s), increased procedural success rates, and enhanced non-technical skills such as teamwork and crisis management. Participants reported reduced anxiety and improved confidence levels (self-efficacy scores increased by 1.9 points). The Vortex method and visual cognitive aids demonstrated particular effectiveness in simulated scenarios. <b>Conclusions:</b> Cognitive aids significantly enhance emergency airway management skills, improving performance, reducing errors, and increasing provider confidence. Integrating cognitive aids into training programs has the potential to improve patient safety and outcomes. Further research is needed to validate these findings in clinical settings and optimize cognitive aid design and implementation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c4f3ebecf5524e5cb9c5e63d5a4da0b2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2039-7283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Clinics and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-c4f3ebecf5524e5cb9c5e63d5a4da0b22025-01-24T13:27:42ZengMDPI AGClinics and Practice2039-72832025-01-011511310.3390/clinpract15010013Emergency Airway Management: A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Cognitive Aids in Improving Outcomes and Provider PerformanceRaisa Chowdhury0Ostap Orishchak1Marco A. Mascarella2Bshair Aldriweesh3Mohammed K. Alnoury4Guillaume Bousquet-Dion5Jeffrey Yeung6Lily Ha-Nam P. Nguyen7Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 2M1, CanadaDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, CanadaDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, CanadaDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, King Fahad Specialist Hospital Dammam, Dammam 32253, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Anesthesia, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, CanadaDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, CanadaDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Emergency airway management is a critical skill for healthcare professionals, particularly in life-threatening situations like “cannot intubate, cannot oxygenate” (CICO) scenarios. Errors and delays in airway management can lead to adverse outcomes, including hypoxia and death. Cognitive aids, such as checklists and algorithms, have been proposed as tools to improve decision-making, procedural competency, and non-technical skills in these high-stakes environments. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive aids in enhancing emergency airway management skills among health professionals and trainees. <b>Methods:</b> A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted from February to March 2024. Studies examining the use of cognitive aids, such as the Vortex method, the ASA difficult airway algorithm, and visual airway aids, in emergency airway scenarios were included. Outcomes assessed included decision-making speed, procedural success rates, and non-technical skills. Data were extracted using standardized protocols, and the quality of included studies was appraised. <b>Results:</b> Five studies met inclusion criteria, encompassing randomized controlled trials, controlled studies, and mixed-methods research. Cognitive aids improved decision-making times (reduced by 44.6 s), increased procedural success rates, and enhanced non-technical skills such as teamwork and crisis management. Participants reported reduced anxiety and improved confidence levels (self-efficacy scores increased by 1.9 points). The Vortex method and visual cognitive aids demonstrated particular effectiveness in simulated scenarios. <b>Conclusions:</b> Cognitive aids significantly enhance emergency airway management skills, improving performance, reducing errors, and increasing provider confidence. Integrating cognitive aids into training programs has the potential to improve patient safety and outcomes. Further research is needed to validate these findings in clinical settings and optimize cognitive aid design and implementation.https://www.mdpi.com/2039-7283/15/1/13airwaycognitive aiddecision support toolsemergencysurgical airway |
| spellingShingle | Raisa Chowdhury Ostap Orishchak Marco A. Mascarella Bshair Aldriweesh Mohammed K. Alnoury Guillaume Bousquet-Dion Jeffrey Yeung Lily Ha-Nam P. Nguyen Emergency Airway Management: A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Cognitive Aids in Improving Outcomes and Provider Performance Clinics and Practice airway cognitive aid decision support tools emergency surgical airway |
| title | Emergency Airway Management: A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Cognitive Aids in Improving Outcomes and Provider Performance |
| title_full | Emergency Airway Management: A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Cognitive Aids in Improving Outcomes and Provider Performance |
| title_fullStr | Emergency Airway Management: A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Cognitive Aids in Improving Outcomes and Provider Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emergency Airway Management: A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Cognitive Aids in Improving Outcomes and Provider Performance |
| title_short | Emergency Airway Management: A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Cognitive Aids in Improving Outcomes and Provider Performance |
| title_sort | emergency airway management a systematic review on the effectiveness of cognitive aids in improving outcomes and provider performance |
| topic | airway cognitive aid decision support tools emergency surgical airway |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2039-7283/15/1/13 |
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