The threat of shortages of personal protective equipment have led to innovations in protective barriers to limit the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Those performing aerosolizing procedures such as endotracheal intubation have been designated by the Centers for Disease Control as increased risk of contracting COVID-19. Evaluation of aerosolizing containing barriers for intubation has been limited to date. Some have raised concerns about the universal use of these devices and their possible iatrogenic side effects. It is clear that in time periods of atypical practice that quality and outcome review are critical to addressing novel problems as they arise. An unusual set of injury patterns associated with videolaryngoscopy lead to further evaluation and reconsideration of these devices in our own military department. We review the current literature on this topic and provide a perspective from a single large academic military treatment facility.
Desperate Times Call for Deliberate Measurement: A Review of COVID-19 Aerosol Barrier Devices and a Perspective from a Military Treatment Facility.