Case Presentation
A 32-year-old male with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus came to your emergency department for shortness of breath. He was referred to the suspected COVID-19 area. His vitals were as follows: Blood pressure, 100/55 mmHg; pulse rate, 135 bpm; respiratory rate, 40/min; saturation on 10 liters of oxygen per minute, 91%; body temperature, 36.7 C. His finger-prick glucose was 350 mg/dl.
The patient reported that he had started to feel ill and had an episode of diarrhea 1 week ago. He developed a dry cough and fever in time. He started to feel shortness of breath for 2 days. He sought out the ER today because of the difficulty breathing and abdominal pain.
The patient seemed alert but mildly agitated. He was breathing effortfully and sweating excessively. On physical examination of the lungs, you noticed fine crackles on the right. Despite the patient reported abdominal pain, there were no signs of peritonitis on palpation.
An arterial blood gas analysis showed: pH 7.0, PCO2: 24, pO2: 56 HCO3: 8 Lactate: 3.
Two main diagnostic hypotheses here are:
- Diabetic ketoacidosis (Hyperglycemia + metabolic acidosis)
- SARS-CoV2 pneumonia
We avoid intubating patients with pure metabolic decompensation of DKA if possible, as they respond to hydration + insulin therapy + electrolyte replacement well and quickly.
But in this scenario, the patient is extremely sick and has complicating medical issues, such as an acute lung disease decompensating the diabetic condition, probably COVID19. Considering these extra issues may complicate the recovery time and increase the risk of respiratory failure, you decide to intubate the patient in addition to the treatment of DKA.
You order lab tests and cultures. You start hydration and empirical antibiotics while starting preoxygenation and preparing for intubation.
Will this be a Difficult Airway?
Evaluating the patient for the predictors of a difficult airway is a part of the preparation for intubation. Based on your evaluation, you should create an intubation plan.
This assessment is usually focused on anatomical changes that would make it difficult to manage the airway (visualization of the vocal cords, tube passage, ventilation, surgical airway), thereby placing the patient at risk.
“Does this patient have any changes that will hinder opening the mouth, mobilizing the cervical region, or cause any obstruction for laryngoscopy? Does this patient have any changes that hinder the use of Balloon-Valve-Mask properly, such as a large beard? What about the use of the supraglottic device? Does this patient have an anatomical alteration that would hinder emergency cricothyroidotomy or make it impossible, like a radiation scar? ”
So the anatomically difficult airway is when the patient is at risk if you are unable to intubate him due to anatomical problems.
The physiologically difficult airway, however, is when the patient has physiological changes that put him at risk of a bad outcome during or shortly after intubation. Despite intubation. Or because of intubation, because of its physiological changes due to positive pressure ventilation.
With the anatomically difficult airway the fear is that you won’t be able to intubate the patient and they might die.
— AirwayMan (@JohnCSakles) September 19, 2018
With the physiologically difficult airway the fear is that you will be able to intubate the patient and they might die.
These changes need to be identified early and must be mitigated. You need to recognize the risks and stabilize the patient before proceeding to intubation or be prepared to deal with the potential complications immediately if they happen.
5 main physiological changes need attention before intubation are: hypoxemia, hypotension, severe metabolic acidosis, right ventricular failure, severe bronchospasm.
Back to our patient: Does he have physiologically difficult airway predictors?
- SI (Shock Index): 1.35 (Normal <0.8) – signs of shock
- P / F: 93 (Normal> 300) – Severe hypoxemia
- pH: 7.0: Severe metabolic acidosis – expected pCO2: 20 (not compensating)
- qSOFA: 2 + Lactate: 3 (severity predictor)
Physiologically Difficult Airway
"Severely critical patients with severe physiological changes who are at increased risk for cardiopulmonary collapse during or immediately after intubation."
Severe Metabolic Acidosis
In this post, we will focus only on the compensation of the metabolic part, but do not forget that this is a patient who needs attention on oxygenation and hemodynamics as well. That is, this is intubation with very difficult predictions.
What happens during the rapid sequence of intubation in severe metabolic acidosis?
To perform the procedure, the patient needs to be in apnea. During an apnea, pulmonary ventilation is decreased and the CO2 is not “washed” from the airway. These generate an accumulation of CO2, an acid, decreasing blood pH. In a patient with normal or slightly altered pH, this can be very well-tolerated, but in a patient with a pH of 7.0, an abrupt drop in this value can be ominous.
We know that the respiratory system is one of the most important compensation mechanisms for metabolic acidosis and it starts its action in seconds, increasing the pH by 50 to 75% in 2 to 3 minutes, guaranteeing the organism time to recover. So, even seconds without your proper actions can be risky for critical patients.
In addition, it must be remembered that increased RF is the very defense for the compensation of metabolic acidosis, and most of the time the organism does this very well. So if after the intubation the NORMAL FR and NORMAL minute volume are placed in the mechanical ventilator parameters, again there is an increase in CO2 and a further decrease in pH.
And what’s wrong? After all, a little bit of acidosis even facilitates the release of oxygen in the tissues because it deflects the oxyhemoglobin curve to the right, right?
Severe metabolic acidosis (pH <7.1) can have serious deleterious effects:
- Arterial vasodilation (worsening shock)
- Decreased myocardial contractility
- Risks of arrhythmias
- Resistance to the action of DVAs
- Cellular dysfunction
What to do?
Always the primary initial treatment is: treating the underlying cause! In patients with severe metabolic acidosis, it is best to avoid intubation! Especially in metabolic ketoacidosis, which as hydration and insulin intake improves, there is a progressive improvement in blood pH.
Sodium bicarbonate
The use of sodium bicarbonate to treat metabolic acidosis is controversial, especially in non-critical acidosis values (pH> 7.2). If you have acute renal failure associated, its use may be beneficial by postponing the need for renal replacement therapy (pH <7.2).
As for DKA, where sodium bicarbonate is used to the ketoacidosis formed by erratic metabolism due to the lack of insulin and no real deficiency is present, its use becomes limited to situations with pH <6.9.
The dose is empirical, and dilution requires a lot of attention (avoid performing HCO3 without diluting!)
NaHCO3 100mEq + AD 400ml
Run EV in 2h
If K <5.3: Associate KCl 10% 2amp
I would make this solution and leave it running while proceeding with the intubation preparations.
Attention: Remember, according to the formula below, that HCO3 is converted to CO2, and if done in excess, is associated with progressive improvement of the ketoacidosis and recovery of HCO3 from the buffering molecules. In a patient already with limited ventilation, its increase can cause deviation of the curve for the CO2 increase, which is also easily diffused to the cells and paradoxically decrease the intracellular pH, in addition to carrying K into the cell.
H + + HCO3 – = H2CO3 = CO2 + H2O
Mechanical ventilation
I think the most important part of the management of these patients is the respiratory part.
If you choose the Rapid Sequence Intubation: Prepare for the intubation to be performed as quickly as possible: Use your best material, choose the most experienced intubator, put the patient in ideal positioning, decide and apply medications skillfully, to ensure the shortest time possible apnea.
You will need personnel experienced in Mechanical Ventilation and you must remember to leave the ventilatory parameters adjusted to what the patient needs and not to what would be normal!
I found this practice very interesting: First, you calculate what the expected pCO2 should be for the patient, according to HCO3:
Winter’s Equation (Goal C02) = 1.5 X HCO3 + 8 (+/- 2)
| Goal CO2 | Minute Ventilation |
|---|---|
|
40 mmHg |
6-8 L |
|
30 mmHg |
12-14 L |
|
20 mmHg |
18-20 L |
These are just initial parameters. With each new blood gas analysis repeated in 30 minutes to an hour, you re-make fine adjustments using the formula below:
Minute volume = [PaCO2 x Minute volume (from VM)] / CO2 Desired
With the treatment of ketoacidosis, new parameters should be adjusted, hopefully for the better.
Another safer option for these patients would be to use the Awake Patient Intubation technique so that you would avoid the apnea period. However, Awake Patient Intubation Technique is contraindicated in suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases due to the risk of contamination.
That’s it, folks, send your feedback, your experiences, and if you have other sources!
Further Reading
- Frank Lodeserto MD, “Simplifying Mechanical Ventilation – Part 3: Severe Metabolic Acidosis”, REBEL EM blog, June 18, 2018. Available at: https://rebelem.com/simplifying-mechanical-ventilation-part-3-severe-metabolic-acidosis/.
- Justin Morgenstern, “Emergency Airway Management Part 2: Is the patient ready for intubation?”, First10EM blog, November 6, 2017. Available at: https://first10em.com/airway-is-the-patient-ready/.
- Salim Rezaie, “How to Intubate the Critically Ill Like a Boss”, REBEL EM blog, May 3, 2019. Available at: https://rebelem.com/how-to-intubate-the-critically-ill-like-a-boss/.
- Salim Rezaie, “RSI, Predictors of Cardiac Arrest Post-Intubation, and Critically Ill Adults”, REBEL EM blog, May 10, 2018. Available at: https://rebelem.com/rsi-predictors-of-cardiac-arrest-post-intubation-and-critically-ill-adults/.
- Salim Rezaie, “Critical Care Updates: Resuscitation Sequence Intubation – pH Kills (Part 3 of 3)”, REBEL EM blog, October 3, 2016. Available at: https://rebelem.com/critical-care-updates-resuscitation-sequence-intubation-ph-kills-part-3-of-3/.
- Lauren Lacroix, “APPROACH TO THE PHYSIOLOGICALLY DIFFICULT AIRWAY”, https://emottawablog.com/2017/09/approach-to-the-physiologically-difficult-airway/
- Scott Weingart. The HOP Mnemonic and AirwayWorld.com Next Week. EMCrit Blog. Published on June 21, 2012. Accessed on July 15th 2020. Available at [https://emcrit.org/emcrit/hop-mnemonic/ ].
- IG: @pocusjedi: “Pocus e Coronavirus: o que sabemos até agora?”https://www.instagram.com/p/B-NxhrqFPI1/?igshid=14gs224a4pbff
References
- Sakles JC, Pacheco GS, Kovacs G, Mosier JM. The difficult airway refocused. Br J Anaesth. 2020;125(1):e18-e21. doi:10.1016/j.bja.2020.04.008
- Mosier JM, Joshi R, Hypes C, Pacheco G, Valenzuela T, Sakles JC. The Physiologically Difficult Airway. West J Emerg Med. 2015;16(7):1109-1117. doi:10.5811/westjem.2015.8.27467
- Irl B Hirsch, MDMichael Emmett, MD. Diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state in adults: Treatment. Post TW, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc. https://www.uptodate.com (Accessed on July 15, 2020.)
- Cabrera JL, Auerbach JS, Merelman AH, Levitan RM. The High-Risk Airway. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2020;38(2):401-417. doi:10.1016/j.emc.2020.01.008
- Guyton AC, HALL JE. Tratado de fisiologia medica. 13a ed. Rio de Janeiro(RJ): Elsevier, 2017. 1176 p.
- Kraut JA, Madias NE. Metabolic acidosis: pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2010;6(5):274-285. doi:10.1038/nrneph.2010.33
- Calvin A. Brown III, John C. Sakles, Nathan W. Mick. Manual de Walls para o Manejo da Via Aérea na Emergência. 5. ed. – Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2019.
- Smith MJ, Hayward SA, Innes SM, Miller ASC. Point-of-care lung ultrasound in patients with COVID-19 – a narrative review [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 10]. Anaesthesia. 2020;10.1111/anae.15082. doi:10.1111/anae.15082
