• Nadeem Ullah Khan, Uzma Rahim Khan, Kiran Ejaz, Humaid Ahmad, Nukhba Zia, and Junaid Abdul Razzak.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. nadeemullah.khan@aku.edu
• J Pak Med Assoc. 2013 Mar 1;63(3):306-9.

ObjectiveTo study the indications, method, success rate and complications of intubation at the Emergency Department of a private, tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.MethodsThe case series involved 278 patients above 14 years of age who underwent emergency intubation at the Emergency Department of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi between 1998 and 2003. Descriptive statistics were used to compare rapid sequence intubation with crash intubation. The level of significance was p<0.05.ResultsOf the total 278 intubations performed, 37 (13.3%) had to be left out for incomplete information.The study population remaining for inferential analysis comprised of 241 patients. Of the total 278 patients, 174 (63%) were males. Rapid sequence intubation was the commonest type (n=185, 67%) of intubation and was performed mostly by anaesthetists (n=236, 85%). Cardiogenic pulmonary oedema and head injury were commonly seen in these patients.The success on first attempt of intubation was 98% (n=181) in rapid sequence intubation, and 85% (n=48) in crash intubation. Overall, 15 (5.3%) complications were seen in these intubations.ConclusionStudy showed a satisfactory success rate in both rapid sequence and crash intubations.

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