Airway management in pre-hospital critical care: a review of the evidence for a 'top five' research priority

K Crewdson; M Rehn; D Lockey

doi:10.1186/s13049-018-0556-4

Airway management in pre-hospital critical care: a review of the evidence for a 'top five' research priority

Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med. 2018 Oct 20;26(1):89. doi: 10.1186/s13049-018-0556-4.

Authors

K Crewdson¹, M Rehn^{2

3

4}, D Lockey^{5

2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anaesthesia, North Bristol NHS Trust, Southmead Hospital, Southmead Way, Bristol, BS10 5NB, UK. kate.crewdson@nbt.nhs.uk.
² Department of Research, Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, Drøbak, Norway.
³ Pre-hospital Division, Air Ambulance Department, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
⁴ Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway.
⁵ Department of Anaesthesia, North Bristol NHS Trust, Southmead Hospital, Southmead Way, Bristol, BS10 5NB, UK.
⁶ Bristol University, Bristol, UK.

Abstract

The conduct and benefit of pre-hospital advanced airway management and pre-hospital emergency anaesthesia have been widely debated for many years. In 2011, prehospital advanced airway management was identified as a 'top five' in physician-provided pre-hospital critical care. This article summarises the evidence for and against this intervention since 2011 and attempts to address some of the more controversial areas of this topic.

Keywords: Airway management; Emergency medical services; Intubation.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Airway Management*
Anesthesia*
Critical Care*
Emergency Medical Services*
Humans