Airway Management in Microgravity

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airway-management-in-microgravity

In the near future, space programs will shift their focus toward long‐duration interplanetary missions, in particular to the Moon and Mars. These exploration missions will be associated with an increased risk of acute medical problems, which will need to be handled by an autonomous crew operating in extreme isolation. We performed a standardized review of published literature on airway management in spaceflight and analogue environments using the database PubMed. We identified a total of 3,111 publications of which 3,039 were initially excluded after evaluation. It appears possible to safely manage the airway in weightlessness, provided that certain conditions are ensured, such as restraining the patient and operator for conventional orotracheal intubation. If airway protection is required with endotracheal intubation, both the operator and the patient should be restrained.

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