Course type: Online; Self-Paced
Duration: Available for 2 months
Modules: 5
Time required: Up to 1 hour per module
Target Audience: Physicians and Nurses
Specialty: Allergy/Immunology; Intensive Medicine
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Language: English and Portuguese
Certificate: Yes
About the Difficult Airway Course
A difficult airway is defined based on a clinical situation in which a specialist has difficulty managing upper airway ventilation with a face mask or tracheal intubation, or both. It involves a complex interaction between patient factors, the clinic, the environment, and the skills of the clinician.
Current recommendations point to the need for early airway assessment. This evaluation should be based on the patient’s history and physical examination, looking for physical features that may indicate the presence of a difficult airway. Additional evaluation may be indicated for some patients to characterize the likelihood or nature of the expected airway difficulty.
The Difficult Airway Course allows you to develop skills in planning and managing a difficult airway, as well as putting into practice techniques of action.
Target Audience
Physicians and Nurses
Course Overview
- 5 Modules
The course is divided into 5 learning modules, in which you can practice with interactive virtual patient scenarios. - Online, Self-paced
The course is available for 2 months since your starting date. Complete the 5 modules at your own pace, one at a time. - Certificate of Completion
After completing all the modules, you will receive a Certificate of Completion of the course.
What you will learn:
The purposes of this course are education and training in the management of respiratory crises and the implementation of measures to minimize the damage resulting from airway manipulation.
By the end of this course you should be able to:
- Anticipate difficult airway using LEMON criteria/score
- Characterize difficult airway due to mallampati III
- Identify main pathologies that could potentially lead to a difficult airway
- Value airway obstruction by an inflammatory process with wheezing and with bronchospasm on pulmonary auscultation
- Recognize difficult airway and intubate using the video-laryngoscopy technique to protect the airway
- Develop competencies in intubation using the video-laryngoscopy technique
- Perform an appropriate diagnosis and treatment of angioedema, according to current guidelines
- Anticipating difficulties in approaching the airway in a patient with laryngeal edema of an allergic nature
- Differentiate between an acute attack of hereditary angioedema and allergic angioedema
- Outline a practice plan for managing a patient who presents acute laryngeal angioedema symptoms
- Summarize signs and symptoms of Angioedema of unknown etiology in order to increase awareness and understanding
- Identify Ludwig Angina and treat the condition.
Body Interact has developed this course based on the international guidelines of the Difficult Airway Society (DAS) and on the American Society of Anesthesiologists, utilizing advanced medical simulation technology with virtual patients
Course Outline
Module 1 - Young male patient with lip and tongue swelling
Context: The swelling of the deeper layers of the skin can affect any part of the body, but usually affects the eyes, lips, tongue, hand, and feet. The appearance of this edema has four main causes: allergic reaction; drug-induced; hereditary or no known cause, which may be related to anxiety or minor stress infections – idiopathic. Allergic or idiopathic are usually treated the same, using a combination of antihistamines and corticosteroids to help relieve the swelling.
Virtual Scenario: Tobias Ingram presents to the Emergency Room with acute lip swelling. He is an otherwise healthy college student with no prior medical history.
Module 2 - Respiratory difficulty after ate a little cocktail
Context: An allergic reaction can cause edema, which leads to airway obstruction. Edema occurs in the loose submucosal layer of the connective tissue, which is most developed on the lingual surface of the epiglottis, in the criburonal and gangled folds, in the area of the scaphoid cartilage, and in the sub-basement space. Some of this fabric is contained in the folds of the vestibule.
Virtual Scenario: Ms. Hughes was celebrating a friend’s birthday at a dinner party when suddenly she started with respiratory difficulty and wheezing becoming progressively more severe. Her friend called for an ambulance referring that she is allergic to seafood, and ate a little cocktail, not knowing that it has seafood.
Module 3 - Anticipation of difficult airway
Context: Airway assessment is a key part of a patient assessment. It helps to predict a difficult airway and can help reduce the incidence of difficult or unsuccessful intubation. The LEMON tool can be used in different clinical environments and helps to predict the difficulty of intubation.
Virtual Scenario: Mr. Perry has developed a cough with expectoration and fever for over a week. Today was brought to the emergency department after an increase in shortness of breath, fatigue, and collapse at home.
Module 4 - A recent tooth abscess
Context: Dental infections, as well as parapharyngeal abscess, mandibular fracture, cut or perforation inside the mouth, or submandibular salivary stones can be causes of a type of severe cellulitis that specifically involves the submandibular, submental and sublingual spaces. As the condition worsens, the airway may be compromised as a result of the hardening of the spaces on either side of the tongue, requiring a rapid approach.
Virtual Scenario: Mr. Wood had a recent tooth abscess and was prescribed antibiotics for 15 days. He has a history of progressive difficulty in swallowing, odynophagia, dysphonia, extraoral swelling, and pain.
Module 5 - A few days with odynophagia
Context: An untreated pharyngitis or tonsillitis, can lead to an abscess caused by a bacterial infection that usually involves a purulent pocket-forming near one of the tonsils. This type of infection can lead to potentially serious complications such as airway obstruction, aspiration, or extension of the infection into deep tissues of the neck.
Virtual Scenario: Mr. Voight usually has pharyngitis regularly. Today he comes to the emergency department with shortness of breath, discomfort, odynophagia, and fever, which started a few days ago.
After acquiring this course, you can access it through the Body Interact app at any time:
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