• Michael Toolis, Ravindranath Tiruvoipati, John Botha, Cameron Green, and Ashwin Subramaniam.
• Frankston Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. Michael.Toolis@svha.org.au.
• Crit Care Resusc. 2019 Jun 1; 21 (2): 139-147.

ObjectiveTo characterise intubation practices in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units (ICUs) and investigate clinician support for establishing airway management guidelines in Australian and New Zealand ICUs.DesignAn online survey was designed, piloted and distributed to members of the mailing list of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS), with medical members invited to participate. Respondents were excluded if their primary practice was in paediatric ICUs.Main Outcome MeasuresData collected included the respondents' demographics and airway management practices and whether respondents supported the formulation of Australian and New Zealand intubation guidelines for critically ill patients in ICU and mandatory airway management training for Fellows of the College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand (CICM).ResultsOver a quarter of ANZICS medical members completed the survey (203/756, 27%), of which 166 (22%) were included in the analysis. The majority of respondents were male (80%), consultant intensivists (80%), and from tertiary centres (59%). Seventeen per cent worked concurrently in ICU and anaesthesia, and 52% had not completed formal airway training within the previous 3 years. Propofol was the preferred induction agent (67%) and rocuronium was the preferred neuromuscular blocking agent (58%). Videolaryngoscopy was immediately available in 97% of the ICUs and used first-line by 43% of respondents. Sixty-one per cent of respondents were in favour of the development of Australian and New Zealand ICU airway management guidelines, and 80% agreed that airway management training should be mandatory for CICM Fellows.ConclusionVariation of practices in intubation was noted in the participants. Approximately 61% of respondents supported the development of Australian and New Zealand ICU airway management guidelines, and 80% supported mandatory airway management training.

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