• Vincenzo Russotto, Lua S Rahmani, Matteo Parotto, Giacomo Bellani, and John G Laffey.
• From the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, University Hospital San Luigi Gonzaga, University of Turin, Italy (VR), Department of Emergency and Intensive Care, University Hospital San Gerardo, Monza (GB), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy (GB), Department of Anaesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street, Dublin, Ireland (LSR), Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine; Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Toronto (MP), Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada (MP), Regenerative Medicine Institute at CURAM Centre for Medical Devices, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland (JGL) and Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland (JGL) Correspondence to Vincenzo Russotto, Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, University Hospital San Luigi Gonzaga, Regione Gonzole, 10, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy.
• Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2022 May 1; 39 (5): 463472463-472.

AbstractTracheal intubation is among the most commonly performed and high-risk procedures in critical care. Indeed, 45% of patients undergoing intubation experience at least one major peri-intubation adverse event, with cardiovascular instability being the most common event reported in 43%, followed by severe hypoxemia in 9% and cardiac arrest in 3% of cases. These peri-intubation adverse events may expose patients to a higher risk of 28-day mortality, and they are more frequently observed with an increasing number of attempts to secure the airway. The higher risk of peri-intubation complications in critically ill patients, compared with the anaesthesia setting, is the consequence of their deranged physiology (e.g. underlying respiratory failure, shock and/or acidosis) and, in this regard, airway management in critical care has been defined as "physiologically difficult". In recent years, several randomised studies have investigated the most effective preoxy-genation strategies, and evidence for the use of positive pressure ventilation in moderate-to-severe hypoxemic patients is established. On the other hand, evidence on interventions to mitigate haemodynamic collapse after intubation has been elusive. Airway management in COVID-19 patients is even more challenging because of the additional risk of infection for healthcare workers, which has influenced clinical choices in this patient group. The aim of this review is to provide an update of the evidence for intubation in critically ill patients with a focus on understanding peri-intubation risks and evaluating interventions to prevent or mitigate adverse events.Copyright © 2022 European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.

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