RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Examination of Patterns in Intubation by an Emergency Airway Team at a Large Academic Center: Higher Frequency During Daytime Hours
JF Respiratory Care
FD American Association for Respiratory Care
SP respcare.02432
DO 10.4187/respcare.02432
A1 M. Christopher Adams
A1 Ulrich Schmidt
A1 Dean R. Hess
A1 Henry T. Stelfox
A1 Edward A. Bittner
YR 2013
UL http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2013/10/15/respcare.02432.abstract
AB Background: Emergency airway management represents an event with high acuity but unpredictable frequency, and therefore presents a challenge for adequate staffing. Given circadian and seasonal variations we hypothesized that the majority of emergent airway events happen after normal working hours and during the winter months. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 1,482 intubations performed by an emergency airway team over a three-year period. The data were obtained from hospitalized patients who required emergency airway management in a large academic medical center. A database of emergency airway consultations was analyzed for intubation time and date information, as well as geographic location within the hospital. Results: A greater percentage of emergency intubations occurred during day shift hours (7AM – 7PM) as opposed to night shift, 57% and 43%, respectively (p<0.01). The monthly frequency of intubations was not uniformly distributed across the year (p<0.01). The greatest percentage of intubations was performed in February (10.9%), with the lowest being recorded in August (4.7%). Conclusions: Emergency airway service utilization is highest during daytime hours, with seasonal variations comprised of higher consults in the winter and lower consults in the summer.