Abstract
Objective: Rapid sequence induction (RSI) is a set of clinical techniques and precautions aimed at minimizing the risk of aspiration of gastric contents in at-risk patients. RSI is a part of everyday anaesthetic clinical practice.
Due to the lack of national and international guidelines the actual RSI varies in clinical practice. The aim of the survey was to evaluate the variability of RSI based on four model clinical scenarios (adult patient with acute abdomen, paediatric patient with acute abdomen, parturient scheduled for elective caesarean section and geriatric obese patient with hiatus hernia).
Design: Survey (electronic form). Materials and methods: The survey was sent to the Czech Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine members and to the 2016 AKUTNE.CZ conference attendees.
Results: Total 164 completed questionnaires were returned (response rate 12.5%). The results indicated high variability in the indications and technique of RSI in clinical practice, both in trainees and qualified anaesthetists.
Conclusion: The results highlighted urgent need for a national RSI guidelines formulation for specific clinical scenarios (adult, child, parturient). Formulation of evidence-based guidelines and RSI standardization may positively influence patient safety in daily anaesthetic practice.