Airway Management in the Critically Ill Patient

Bhupinder Natt; Jarrod Mosier

doi:10.1007/s40140-021-00448-3

Airway Management in the Critically Ill Patient

Curr Anesthesiol Rep. 2021;11(2):116-127. doi: 10.1007/s40140-021-00448-3. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Authors

Bhupinder Natt¹, Jarrod Mosier^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep, Department of Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ USA.
² Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N Campbell Ave, AHSL 4171D, PO Box 245057, Tucson, AZ 85724-5057 USA.

Abstract

Purpose of review: This paper will evaluate the recent literature and best practices in airway management in critically ill patients.

Recent findings: Cardiac arrest remains a common complication of intubation in these high-risk patients. Patients with desaturation or peri-intubation hypotension are at high risk of cardiac arrest, and each of these complications have been reported in up to half of all intubations in critically ill patient populations.

Summary: There have been significant advances in preoxygenation and devices available for performing laryngoscopy and rescue oxygenation. However, the risk of cardiovascular collapse remains concerningly high with few studies to guide therapeutic maneuvers to reduce this risk.

Keywords: Cardiovascular collapse; Critically ill; Desaturation; Hemodynamics; Intubation; Preoxygenation.

Publication types

Review