The Vortex: a universal 'high-acuity implementation tool' for emergency airway management.

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Medical Education
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Emergency airway management performance is influenced by preparation and implementation factors.
• Existing major airway guidelines often lack context-specific design, potentially hindering team function.
• Cognitive aids are crucial for supporting decision-making during critical events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Vortex, a novel cognitive aid for real-time support during emergency airway management.
• To evaluate the Vortex's potential to address recognized failings in airway crisis management.
• To assess the Vortex's applicability across diverse clinical contexts and healthcare professionals.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Vortex, a visually based cognitive aid designed for real-time use.
• Comparison of the Vortex's flexible, context-independent design with context-specific major algorithms.
• Consideration of the Vortex's features aligning with ideal cognitive tool characteristics.

Main Results:

• The Vortex is a simple, visually-oriented tool designed for immediate application in airway emergencies.
• Unlike context-specific algorithms, the Vortex is adaptable to any airway management scenario, patient type, or device.
• The Vortex is suitable for various medical professionals including emergency physicians, intensivists, and anaesthetists.

Conclusions:

• The Vortex cognitive aid is designed to support team function and reduce implementation errors in emergency airway management.
• Its context-independent and flexible nature makes it broadly applicable across different clinical settings.
• Further experimental evidence is required to establish the Vortex's effectiveness in practice.