• Kristi Henderson, LouAnn H Woodward, Kristen C Isom, Jonathan Wilson, and Richard L Summers.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
• Air Med. J. 2015 May 1; 34 (3): 141-3.

ObjectiveNon-emergency-trained providers in rural emergency departments (ED) often lack the skills required for emergency resuscitations and rely on air medical transport teams to provide the initial airway stabilization of these patients. In this study, we determined the prevalence with which endotracheal intubations are required of air medical personnel upon arrival to rural EDs including intubations that were first attempted by the local provider.MethodsA retrospective database review was conducted of all air medical transfers from rural hospitals for a 28-month period. Those patients requiring an airway were categorized according to which provider initiated the intubation procedure. The prevalence of intubations performed by air medical and local providers was recorded as the percent of the total number of intubations.ResultsThere were a total of 217 patients from 11 rural EDs requiring airway support. Air medical personnel were responsible for 85% of the intubations. Alternative airway support was necessary in 5% of the patients after unsuccessful intubation attempts. The failed intubations tended to be slightly older and female.ConclusionOur study suggests that the vast majority of the intubations for patients requiring a helicopter evacuation from these rural settings are performed by the air medical personnel.Copyright © 2015 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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