Have technological advances decreased our clinical skills?

Abstract

In recent years, we have seen a surge in introduction of newer devices with new technology for management of difficult airway. These devices have made our management procedures easier and safer. In the absence of availability of these devices earlier, anaesthetists had developed specific clinical skills to manage these situations, which have been passed on from one generation to the other as table side teaching. These skills have served us well all these years. Do we still need them when the new devices are available to us? Probably yes! Because the newer devices are not failsafe and may fail to achieve to secure the airway sometimes. They are expensive and may not be affordable for most of our institutions and may not be available in all the hospitals in our country. These devices are new addition to our armamentarium, not as substitute but a complement to our clinical skills. Now, the question is how the usage of these devices has affected our clinical practice pattern and do these devices have any limitations? Let′s try to understand.

Keywords

• Airway skills
• difficult airway
• video-laryngoscopes