Improving Intubation Success in Pediatric and Neonatal Transport Using Simulation

Pediatric and neonatal first-pass intubation rates are higher in adult trained retrieval services than in neonatal or pediatric trained services. Some authors have attributed this to more frequent opportunities to practice the skill in the adult population.

The aim of this study was to increase the first-pass intubation rate without adverse events by introducing daily intubation simulation at our mixed neonatal and pediatric retrieval service.

This prospective cohort study performed from July to December 2018 in our mixed neonatal and pediatric retrieval service involved 16 medical staff performing simulated intubation at commencement of their retrieval shift with a retrieval nurse. Checklists for neonatal and pediatric intubation were introduced to the retrieval service for the intervention cohort. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires about intubation performed on retrieval to gather data not routinely collected by the service.

Seven hundred and sixty-eight patients were retrieved by the service and 70 patients required intubation by the retrieval team during the intervention period. First-pass intubation rates were higher during the intervention period compared with a historical cohort, despite less intubations being performed overall. First-pass intubation rates improved from 59% to 78% in neonatal patients (P = 0.032), 58% to 65% in pediatric patients (P = 0.68) and from 58% to 74% overall (P = 0.043). There were no severe adverse events detected during the intervention period. Minor adverse events were associated with multiple attempts at intubation (P < 0.001). Overall compliance with simulation protocol was 43.5%, and on average, each doctor completed simulation once per month.

Simulation is a useful adjunct to support neonatal and pediatric intubation training in the current environment of reducing intubation frequency.