Early intubation versus late intubation for COVID-19 patients: An in situ simulation identifying factors affecting performance and infection control in airway management

COVID-19 poses an infectious risk to healthcare workers especially during airway management. We compared the impact of early versus late intubation on infection control and performance in a randomised in situ simulation, using fluorescent powder as a surrogate for contamination. Twenty anaesthetists and intensivists intubated a simulated patient with COVID-19. The primary outcome was the degree of contamination. The secondary outcomes included the use of bag-valve-mask ventilation, the incidence of manikin cough, intubation time, first attempt success and heart rate variability as a measure of stress. The contamination score was significantly increased in the late intubation group, mean (standard deviation, SD) 17.20 (6.17), 95% confidence intervals (CI) 12.80 to 21.62 versus the early intubation group, mean (SD) 9.90 (5.13), 95% CI 6.23 to 13.57, P1/40.005. The contamination score was increased after simulated cough occurrence (mean (SD) 18.0 (5.09) versus 5.50 (2.10) in those without cough; P