A Novel Technique to Intubate Patients without Reliable Pulse Oximetry

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-18-2018

Publication Title

American Journal of Emergency Medicine

First page number:

1

Last page number:

2

Abstract

Although advances have been made in the approach to airway management, intubating critically ill patients in the Emergency Department (ED) can still be perilous. In some cases, poor peripheral perfusion may preclude obtaining a consistent or reliable pulse oximetrywaveform, and the intubator will not accurately know when the patient begins to desaturate. We describe a case of a patient requiring intubation in whom we were unable to obtain a consistent pulse oximetry waveform. We utilized a novel technique in which a Biphasic Cuirass Ventilation (BCV) device was applied to maintain oxygenation and ventilation during the performance of rapid sequence intubation (RSI). This technique has the potential to improve the safety of RSI, especially in the critically ill patient.

Keywords

Intubation; Emergency airway management; Pulse oximetry

Disciplines

Emergency Medicine

Language

English

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