Emergency intubation with the combitube ®: Comparison with the endotracheal airway

• Published in: Annals of emergency medicine Vol. 22; no. 10; pp. 1573 - 1575
• Main Authors: Staudinger, Thomas, Brugger, Stefan, Watschinger, Bruno, Röggla, Martin, Dielacher, Christoph, Löbl, Thomas, Fink, Dieter, Klauser, Renate, Frass, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Mosby, Inc 01.10.1993
• Subjects: Aged; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - instrumentation; Combitube; Emergencies; Esophagus; Female; Humans; Intensive Care Units; intubation; Intubation - adverse effects; Intubation - instrumentation; Intubation, Intratracheal - instrumentation; Male; Middle Aged; Nurses; Physicians; Prospective Studies; intubation; Combitube
• ISSN: 0196-0644; 1097-6760
• DOI: 10.1016/S0196-0644(05)81261-2

To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Combitube ® as used by ICU nurses under medical supervision compared with endotracheal airway established by ICU physicians during CPR. Prospective study of ICU patients over a seven-month period. Medical ICU. Thirty-seven patients suffering from cardiac arrest. Emergency intubation with either the Combitube ® by nurses or the endotracheal airway by physicians and subsequent mechanical ventilation. Evaluation of blood gases after 20 minutes of mechanical ventilation. Intubation time was shorter for the Combitube ® ( P < .001). Blood gases for each device showed comparable results; Pao 2 was slightly higher during ventilation with the Combitube ® ( P <. 001). The Combitube ® as used by ICU nurses was as effective as establishment of the endotracheal airway by intensivists during CPR. The Combitude ® may be used whenever endotracheal intubation cannot be performed immediately.