The possibilities of non-invasive ventilation are constantly expanding. This leads to a decrease in endotracheal intubations. The increase in non-invasive ventilation methods is a valuable development for newborns, especially for (extremely) premature babies.
The downside of this development is that over the years, intubation skills have also decreased among doctors. The opportunities to train for this as a doctor in training have also decreased. Also, the centralization of surgery in newborns results in fewer required intubations in general hospitals.
Promotional research by Sam-Janneke van Sambeeck: “Organization, intubation skills and monitoring in the acute care of critically ill children in Dutch general hospitals (2018)” has provided much insight into this.
Recommendations from Sam-Janneke van Sambeeck’s research are to set up a training program and ensure the presence of relevant resources. Both locally and nationally, there should be more attention and training for airway management in newborns.
What role can video intubation play in this?
Research on video intubation in newborns indicates that there is much added value in training video intubation skills. Simply put, you learn to intubate faster through better visualization of the airway or by being able to watch with another doctor. Doctors in training find the presence of video intubation very desirable. Ultimately, it is the newborn who benefits from the intubation being quick and effective.
By intubating with a tool such as the NeoScope, intubation skills remain up to par faster and better. This allows for better action when the stressful situation of an intubation arises. This is important for the newborn, who has better chances with a quick and effective intubation when the situation calls for it.
The NeoScope is an effective training tool for maintaining video intubation skills. Consider, for example, organizing an annual internal training with the NeoScope as recommended by Sam-Janneke van Sambeeck’s research.
Would you like to try out the NeoScope or receive more information? Please contact us.
