Anaes Vivas · Airway management & difficult airway
Clinical viva — the DAS unanticipated difficult intubation algorithm
A clinical viva walking through the DAS 2015 algorithm — the objective, the ceiling and the trigger to move on at each of the four plans, and the one-way descent that ends in emergency front-of-neck access. The examiner wants a fixed sequence recited, not improvisation.
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Target exams
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Prompt
The Difficult Airway Society 2015 algorithm for the unanticipated difficult intubation in an adult, displayed as a four-tier flowchart (Plans A to D).
Stimulus
The DAS 2015 algorithm for the unanticipated difficult intubation in an adult, with the patient already anaesthetised and paralysed. The examiner asks you to talk through each tier: what you do, when you stop, and when you move on.
References2ShowHide
- [1]Frerk C, Mitchell VS, McNarry AF, et al. Difficult Airway Society 2015 guidelines for management of unanticipated difficult intubation in adults. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2015.PMID 26556848
- [8]Chrimes N. The Vortex: a universal 'high-acuity implementation tool' for emergency airway management. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2016.PMID 27440673