Reintubation During COVID-19 Pandemic: a Simple Self-made Guiding Device Facilitates Reintubation and Minimizes Transmission

Consensus guidelines to protect airway managers during COVID-19 were developed to encourage safe, accurate and swift performance in intubation and extubation, but reintubation was not considered. With the massive surge of patients requiring mechanical ventilation in this COVID-19 pandemic, great incidence of difficult airways may necessitate reintubation. Equipments could be used now in extubation and reintubation are either too expensive and time-consuming in decontamination, or have not gained wide acceptance. Here, we adapted an extubation device from an intubating stylet, which is provided as accessory of endotracheal tube. Such stylet could provide safe access for expediting reintubation both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, which is inexpensive, single-use, readily available, straightforward to handle, and well-tolerated, thereby benefiting both the patients and healthcare providers.