Artificial Airways Patient Safety-A Survey on Current Situations and Airway Accidents

• Main Authors: HUANG, CHUN-HUNG, 黃鈞鴻
• Other Authors: KUO, NAI-WEN
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/28550467634567604934

碩士 === 臺北醫學大學 === 醫務管理學系 === 94 === Objectives: The artificial airway is the most frequently found invasive device on the respiratory distress patient in the acute intensive care unit. Any adverse event caused by the artificial airway may lead to severe complications. The objective of this study was to address the current situation of the artificial airway care safety and the occurrence of the related incidents. Materials & Methods: A questionnaire entitled “The Current Situation of the Artificial Airway Care Safety” was developed according to related literature and opinions of a group of experts. The survey was administrated on critical care, respiratory and pulmonary specialists in Taiwan. Results: One hundred and ninety-eight valid questionnaires were available for analysis. Most respondents are senior critical care specialists, including 124 pulmonary & critical care specialists. More than half of the respondents (73.7%) had experiences in intensive care more than 4 years. It was found that the key factors of adverse events of the artificial airway are higher ratio of patients to medical staff, lack of staff in charge of emergency events, nursing staff in charge of caring patients with the artificial airways, no alarm system attached to the artificial airways, long period of maintenance, different brands of the endotracheal tubes, lack of standardized procedure of materials used to fix the tubes, etc. Conclusions: This study provides the information on the current situation of the artificial airways safety in Taiwan. Though the occurrence of the artificial-airway- related adverse events is few, the outcomes can be severe. Therefore, it is recommended that regular education and implementation of healthcare quality management is essential to improve safety of the artificial airways. Key Words: artificial airways, patient safety, airway accidents