Four years ago, friend of the show, Minh Le Cong discussed three airway disasters. The first one mentioned was the case of Elaine Bromiley, a routine operation that went horribly awry. In that post, there was a video of the Bromiley case that is a must-watch. Nicholas Chrimes, co-creator of the vortex approach, has created two new videos on this topic that every airway operator should see:
The Reproduced Elaine Bromiley Case Reproduction Video
From the Creators:
This video, produced by Simpact with the permission of Martin Bromiley, is primarily intended for the education of healthcare clinicians, particularly those involved in advanced airway management. By providing a more immersive, real-time version of events which includes some technical detail, the hope is that this video will increase the learning opportunities from the case by assisting airway clinicians to understand not just how these events could happen – but how they might happen to them.
The video was made with the support of the Australian Centre for Health Innovation and was launched at the Society for Airway Management meeting in Seattle on Sept 20th 2014.
It is important to recognize that many details of what transpired during this case are unknown. The depiction of unknown events has been based on the best estimate of expert clinicians. The scenario portrayed thus represents only one possible interpretation of the reported events and approximate timeline of the case. This video is not intended to depict the specific actions of particular individuals and as such, is a work of fiction.
The What-If Video
From the Creators:
Using the circumstances of a real case as a starting point, this video demonstrates the use of a variety of cognitive aids & teamwork strategies, including the Vortex Approach, in managing an airway crisis. The video was produced by Simpact with the support of Martin Bromiley.
Whilst the scenario portrayed initially uses the context of a real case, it is not possible to know whether the strategies used in the video would have actually influenced the the course of events in that particular case. The intention is that this video be used to illustrate, and initiate discussion about, approaches which might facilitate the efficient implementation of the technical aspects of difficult airway management in such a situation, by optimizing teamwork and situational awareness during an emergency.
Scott Weingart
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Very good educational videos, first one made me a little sick. However we have all experienced tunnel vision or fixation of some sort, especially when things aren’t going well. Everyone must train for adverse situation and cannot become complacent in their jobs. Lucky there are many tools to help up train for such situations and they are readily available thanks to FOAM.
[…] reenactment videos of the Elaine Bromiley case, “a routine operation that went horribly awry.” From EMCrit, where Nicholas […]
thanks for posting, mate!
Im not a doctor just a xray technologist but why they didnt make tracheostoma and ventilate trough there?
I’ve seen the original video and it was heartbreaking. The first video made me feel sick to my stomach, brought tears to my eyes and I wanted to scream. It’s horrible, but a fantastic lesson. I’ll never forget this.
feel the same way
We all live mere minutes from irreversible cerebral ischemic damage, a situation staved off only by our ability to breathe. We need to be mentally prepared at all times to cut the neck of every patient we see