Chapter 4 - Tracheal Intubation

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Intubation is often the pivotal procedure in the emergency management of critically ill patients. There are several new devices that can improve the likelihood of successful intubation, but it is important to put the intubation procedure in perspective and understand that intubation is just one part of airway management. The primary objective of airway management is to maintain adequate ventilation and oxygenation. Intubation only allows ventilation and oxygenation after the procedure is completed, not during the procedure. Therefore it is critical to have good basic airway management skills. It is also important to use intubation techniques that have a high likelihood of first pass success, to have the wisdom to recognize when a given approach has failed, and to quickly move to a different technique.