Airway management in the operating room setting: An analysis of reported safety events

Adverse event reporting systems are important tools for identifying areas of risk and opportunities quality improvement. Perioperative airway management (PAM) carries patient risk. We examine the nature of PAM incident reports at an academic tertiary care center. In this retrospective data review, perioperative safety reports filed under “Airway Management” between 2015 and 2020 were analyzed. Data analyzed included severity level (patient harm) and specific event type. There was a total of 7827 safety reports filed from January 2015 to July 2020, with 67 reports related to “Airway Management” (0.85%). The most common specific event type in this safety reporting database was “Intubation Injury (Mouth, Tooth, Airway)” (35.8%). The most common severity level of all reported events was level 2 (temporary or minor harm, 57%). Our safety reporting data demonstrates that adverse events related to PAM are likely to reach the patient and can cause significant harm. Data from our findings can help providers and risk managers to focus efforts on reducing patient harm. Strategies include continued education in technical skills and crisis management, preparation for the difficult airway, increased availability of video laryngoscopes, ongoing safety reporting and collaborative review of adverse events with implementation of quality improvement measures.