Knowledge, Exposure and Practice of Health Care Workers Regarding Emergency Airway Management in a Tertiary Care Centre of West Bengal: Questionnaire-Based Analytical Study

Abstract

Background: Endotracheal intubation is an essential resuscitative procedure in the emergency setting, to maintain a patent airway. In our day-to-day practice at a tertiary care centre calls for intubation remain in quite a demand. As we all know in the emergency setting we first advocate maintaining the so-called A (airway), B(breathing) and C(circulation) and this is where lies the importance of intubation. Objective: The study was done to assess the knowledge, competency, and exposure regarding emergency airway management among healthcare workers in this region of West Bengal which caters to patients from the Mahananda Basin, in particular, Malda. Methodology: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted. The study tool was a standard questionnaire containing 14 questions, which was developed to assess the knowledge, exposure, and practice of the study group in a Tertiary Care Centre of West Bengal. Results: the questionnaire based analytical study revealed gross lack of knowledge among caregivers regarding management of airway during emergency situations. Inference: Basic knowledge in terms of theory seems to prevail among almost all the participants but they lack the congruity between knowledge and exposure, hence an interactive curriculum should be designed to train the target groups in order to avoid the catastrophe seen during emergency situations.