title: Airway management of the critically ill patient: rapid-sequence intubation.
abstract: Advances in emergency airway management have allowed intensivists to use intubation techniques that were once the province of anesthesiology and were confined to the operating room. Appropriate rapid-sequence intubation (RSI) with the use of neuromuscular blocking agents, induction drugs, and adjunctive medications in a standardized approach improves clinical outcomes for select patients who require intubation. However, many physicians who work in the ICU have insufficient experience with these techniques to adopt them for routine use. The purpose of this article is to review airway management in the critically ill adult with an emphasis on airway assessment, algorithmic approaches, and RSI.
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, 169 Ashley Ave, PO Box 250332, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Stuart F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heffner
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000777:Anesthetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods; D016638:Critical Illness; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods*; D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000777:Anesthetics; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents