Air medical journal
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Air medical journal · Nov 2003
Review Comparative StudyComparison of intubation attempts and completion times before and after the initiation of a rapid sequence intubation protocol in an air medical transport program.
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the initiation of a rapid sequence intubation (RSI) protocol would decrease the number of intubation attempts and completion times. In the summer of 2001, an RSI protocol was implemented using succinylcholine and etomidate. ⋯ The number of attempts in the RSI group significantly dropped in the pre-RSI group, and the time from medication administration to intubation statistically decreased. In this study, the implementation of an RSI protocol resulted in fewer intubation attempts and more rapid intubations.