Exploring Safety-II principles in anaesthetic airway management – a qualitative analysis of difficult and failed intubations reported to webAIRS

Abstract

Anaesthetic airway incidents persist as a significant concern in patient safety and, despite extensive investigations, continue to cause patient harm. Traditional safety investigations predominantly adhere to Safety-I principles, focusing on identifying and rectifying errors, often yielding limited new findings. In this analysis conducted within the webAIRS database, the focus shifted towards Safety-II principles. The aim of this study was to identify factors contributing to airway management safety by examining incidents that did not result in adverse patient outcomes. Incidents categorised as ‘difficult intubation’ or ‘failed intubation’ without causing harm to the patient and reported to webAIRS between 2016 and 2022, were included in the analysis.

An inductive qualitative content analysis of narrative data from 129 such incidents revealed that the majority of reported events depicted scenarios deviating from controlled and planned circumstances. During the analysis four themes were identified: patient factors, system factors, individual anaesthetist factors and airway management strategy. Within the first three themes, multiple factors were linked to airway management strategies. The findings of this qualitative analysis show that ‘Work as done’ often differs from ‘Work as imagined’.

This qualitative analysis highlighted the dynamic nature of human management, as individuals respond to unplanned or unexpected events, showcasing adaptability and positive contributions to incident performance. Expanding the understanding of patient safety to also include Safety-II principles, provides a deeper and wider understanding of airway management safety.