critical care medicine
Tracheal Intubation
Introduction
Most patients requiring an artificial airway can be managed with tracheal intubation, which can be Orotracheal (tube inserted through the mouth) Nasotracheal (tube inserted through the nose) Orotracheal intubation is preferred to nasotracheal intubation in most cases and is done via direct laryngoscopy or video laryngoscopy (see How To Do Orotracheal Intubation Using Video Laryngoscopy ). Orotracheal intubation is preferred in apneic and critically ill patients because it can usually be done faster than nasotracheal intubation, which is reserved for awake, spontaneously breathing patients or for situations in which the mouth must be avoided. A serious complication of nasopharyngeal intubation is epistaxis. Blood in the airway can obscure the laryngoscopic view and complicate the intubation. (See also Overview of Respiratory Arrest and 