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Erschienen in: Critical Care 1/2020

Open Access 01.12.2020 | Letter

Description of an alternative method for optimal and comfortable two-handed face mask ventilation: the transverse mandibular technique

verfasst von: Francois Lemay, Jeremy Cooper

Erschienen in: Critical Care | Ausgabe 1/2020

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Abkürzungen
FMV
Facemask ventilation
To the Editor,
Recent recommendations stress the importance of avoiding aerosolization while attempting rescue facemask ventilation (FMV) with COVID-19 patients [1]. In addition, major difficult airway algorithms already highlight the importance of oxygenation rather than intubation, and many include best attempts at facemask ventilation (FMV) while progressing in cannot intubate cannot oxygenate situations [2, 3].
Best attempt at FMV may be challenging, and two major techniques have been so far well described for two-handed FMV: the double CE-grip and the thenar eminence techniques, or VE-grip [4]. We would like to share an alternative technique that provides good FMV conditions through improved jaw thrust, mask seal and ergonomic comfort. We would describe this technique as the transverse mandibular technique (Fig. 1), for which we have not found any description in the literature. We believe it is already performed by some clinicians and that its use and potential benefits should be discussed.
In this technique, emphasis is on mandibular advancement and mask seal. Fingers of both hands (mainly through the index and middle fingers) are placed transversally under the angle of the mandible to achieve an optimal jaw thrust. The thumbs are positioned transversely over the middle of a standard facemask on both sides, pushing down to achieve proper facial seal.
We believe the transverse mandibular technique has some advantages:
1.
The strongest fingers in both hands are used to make an appropriate jaw thrust.
 
2.
The thumb grip is potentially less tiring. In other techniques, lateral pressure must be used with the thumbs, which can be difficult especially in smaller hands.
 
3.
The wrists are kept straight over a wide range of table height. This is relevant as the hands have been shown to have a stronger grip with the wrists in a neutral position [5].
 
4.
The position of the hands fits a wide range of facemasks and patients’ sizes and can be used in both adult and paediatric patients.
 
5.
It can be performed standing in front of the patient, which can be useful in critical situations when many practitioners are managing the airway.
 
It is important that one uses a technique that he or she is comfortable with. Whatever the primary FMV technique, tiring practitioners might want to alternate or combine techniques. We would suggest that practitioners consider the technique advocated in this correspondence as they may find it useful in difficult FMV contexts.

Acknowledgements

None.
Not applicable.
Written consent has been obtained for images provided by the theatre staff involved in Fig. 1.

Competing interests

None.
Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://​creativecommons.​org/​licenses/​by/​4.​0/​. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://​creativecommons.​org/​publicdomain/​zero/​1.​0/​) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

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Literatur
2.
Zurück zum Zitat Frerk C, Mitchell VS, McNarry AF, Mendonca C, Bhagrath R, Patel A, et al. Difficult Airway Society 2015 guidelines for management of unanticipated difficult intubation in adults. Br J Anaesth. 2015;115(6):827–48.CrossRef Frerk C, Mitchell VS, McNarry AF, Mendonca C, Bhagrath R, Patel A, et al. Difficult Airway Society 2015 guidelines for management of unanticipated difficult intubation in adults. Br J Anaesth. 2015;115(6):827–48.CrossRef
3.
Zurück zum Zitat Apfelbaum JL, Hagberg CA, Caplan RA, Blitt, Casey D. Practice guidelines for management of the difficult airway an updated report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Management of the Difficult Airway. Anesthesiology. 2013;118(2):1–20. Apfelbaum JL, Hagberg CA, Caplan RA, Blitt, Casey D. Practice guidelines for management of the difficult airway an updated report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Management of the Difficult Airway. Anesthesiology. 2013;118(2):1–20.
4.
Zurück zum Zitat Fei M, Blair JL, Rice MJ, et al. Comparison of effectiveness of two commonly used two-handed mask ventilation techniques on unconscious apnoeic obese adults. Br J Anaesth. 2017;118(4):618–24.CrossRef Fei M, Blair JL, Rice MJ, et al. Comparison of effectiveness of two commonly used two-handed mask ventilation techniques on unconscious apnoeic obese adults. Br J Anaesth. 2017;118(4):618–24.CrossRef
5.
Zurück zum Zitat Jung M-C, Hallbeck MS. The effect of wrist position, angular velocity, and exertion direction on simultaneous maximal grip force and wrist torque under the isokinetic conditions. Int J Ind Ergon. 2002;29(3):133–43.CrossRef Jung M-C, Hallbeck MS. The effect of wrist position, angular velocity, and exertion direction on simultaneous maximal grip force and wrist torque under the isokinetic conditions. Int J Ind Ergon. 2002;29(3):133–43.CrossRef
Metadaten
Titel
Description of an alternative method for optimal and comfortable two-handed face mask ventilation: the transverse mandibular technique
verfasst von
Francois Lemay
Jeremy Cooper
Publikationsdatum
01.12.2020
Verlag
BioMed Central
Erschienen in
Critical Care / Ausgabe 1/2020
Elektronische ISSN: 1364-8535
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-020-02999-z

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