[Prehospital emergency airway management procedures. Success rates and complications].
BACKGROUND
Oxygenation and ventilation as well as prevention of aspiration are of vital importance for emergency patients. Prehospital airway management is not comparable to clinical anaesthesia. However, prehospital data of the occurrence of potential life-threatening complications and less severe adverse events of airway management procedures by emergency physicians are not yet available.


METHODS
All airway management procedures predominantly performed by emergency physicians over a period of 36 months were recorded prospectively.


RESULTS
Data of 598 consecutive patients were collected, in all patients prehospital airway management could be accomplished successfully. Of the patients 98.5% were successfully intubated endotracheally with a maximum of 3 attempts, 84.6% of patients were intubated at the first attempt, and in 9 patients other techniques such as the Combitube were required. In more than 80% of procedures, no complications or adverse events were recorded and potentially life-threatening complications occurred in 9% of patients only.


CONCLUSIONS
Prehospital airway management by emergency physicians experienced in anaesthesia is associated with low complication and high success rates.
Thierbach
A
A
Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz. Thierbach@uni-mainz.de
Piepho
T
T
Wolcke
B
B
Küster
S
S
Dick
W
W
D000776:Anesthesiology; D001049:Apnea / Q000628:therapy; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000628:therapy; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation; D008297:Male; D011015:Pneumonia, Aspiration / Q000517:prevention & control; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000628:therapy; D012737:Sex Factors