Tracheal intubation

Tracheal intubation
Anesthesiologist using the Glidescope video laryngoscope to intubate the trachea of a morbidly obese elderly person with challenging airway anatomy
SpecialtyAnesthesiology, emergency medicine, critical care medicine
ICD-9-CM96.04
MeSHD007442
OPS-301 code8-701
MedlinePlus003449

Tracheal intubation, usually known as intubation, is when a flexible plastic tube is put into the trachea (windpipe) to keep an open airway or to help put certain drugs into the body.[1] It is normally done in critically injured, ill, or anesthetized patients to keep air moving in and out of the lungs, including mechanical ventilation, and to prevent the possibility of asphyxiation.[2]

References

  1. Jones, JH; Murphy, MP; Dickson, RL; Somerville, GG; Brizendine, EJ (2004). "Emergency physician-verified out-of-hospital intubation: miss rates by paramedics". Academic Emergency Medicine. 11 (6): 707–9. doi:10.1197/j.aem.2003.12.026. PMID 15175215.
  2. Lee, W; Koltai, P; Harrison, AM; Appachi, E; Bourdakos, D; Davis, S; Weise, K; McHugh, M; Connor, J (2002). "Indications for tracheotomy in the pediatric intensive care unit population: a pilot study". Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. 128 (11): 1249–52. doi:10.1001/archotol.128.11.1249. PMID 12431164. S2CID 20209753.