Guideline recommendations on the assessment and management of awake airway intubation: a systematic review.

Abstract

Objectives: To systematically appraise the quality of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) regarding awake tracheal intubation (ATI) and to compare the consistency of common recommendations.

Design: Systematic review, critical appraisal and narrative synthesis of CPG recommendations for ATI.

Methods: A systematic search of the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Scopus databases was conducted up to July 1, 2024, to identify up-to-date CPGs. The AGREE II (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation) checklist was used to critically appraise the CPGs. Interrater agreement was determined via intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with a two-way random effects model for each domain and overall rating score. All the suggestions extracted from the included guidelines were sorted and analyzed and summarized via the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) system.

Results: Our study resulted in 939 records and ultimately 7 CPGs were appraised. The content of these CPGs covered six themes of ATI: indications, airway local anesthesia, the intubation procedure, checking the tube position, management after ATI failure, and the extubation process. When the AGREE II tool was used to appraise CPGs, only 3 CPGs were rated as "high" quality. With the exception of domain 1, we observed good agreement in all five other domains (ICCs over 0.7). These CPGs provided relatively consistent recommendations and evidence on intubation procedures and checking tube position. In terms of indications and airway local anesthesia, there was controversy. Twenty-nine recommendations regarding ATI were summarized through the GRADE system, among which 16 were considered relatively reliable.

Conclusion: Through the AGREE II tool and the GRADE system, the strengths and weaknesses of each CPG were comprehensively analyzed on the basis of its scientific validity and practicability. Moreover, the limitations of the current CPGs in terms of indications, airway local anesthesia and complex clinical situations are presented, and clinicians are encouraged to apply the guidelines more scientifically and to update and improve the guidelines.

Systematic review registration: CRD4202458548 (PROSPERO).