Intensive Care Medicine

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 119. Chapters: Coma, Shock, Sepsis, Tracheal intubation, Clinical death, Mechanical ventilation, C-reactive protein, Oxygen toxicity, History of tracheal intubation, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Acute respiratory distress syndrome, Rhabdomyolysis, Positive airway pressure, Geriatric intensive-care unit, Critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency, Hypomagnesemia, Intensive-care medicine, Altered level of consciousness, Drotrecogin alfa, Neonatal intensive-care unit, Disseminated intravascular coagulation, Parenteral nutrition, Legal death, Infant respiratory distress syndrome, Septic shock, Stress ulcer, Emanuel Rivers, Systemic inflammatory response syndrome, Pulmonary artery catheter, Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, Intensive care unit, Bag valve mask, Cardiogenic shock, Medical monitor, Chest tube, Glasgow Coma Scale, Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, Refeeding syndrome, Procalcitonin, Stress hyperglycemia, Respiratory gas humidification, Anaesthesia Trauma and Critical Care, Respiratory failure, High frequency ventilation, Pulmonary aspiration, ICU quality and management tools, Airway management, Pediatric intensive-care unit, Induced coma, Surviving Sepsis Campaign, Passive leg raising test, APACHE II, SOFA score, ICU scoring systems, Bjørn Aage Ibsen, Permissive hypercapnia, Omegaven, Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome, Ventilator-associated lung injury, Positive pressure ventilation, Critical illness polyneuropathy, Positive end-expiratory pressure, Goal-directed therapy, SAPS II, Heroic measure, Malignant hypertension, Life support, Pressure regulated volume control, Critical Care Air Transport Team, Stabilization, Ccm-l, Nutrient enema, Catastrophic illness, Hunt and Hess scale, Arterial catheter, PIM2, Hyperalimentation, SAPS III, Pressure Support Ventilation, Critical Care Medicine. Excerpt: Tracheal intubation, usually simply referred to as intubation, is the placement of a flexible plastic tube into the trachea (windpipe) to maintain an open airway or to serve as a conduit through which to administer certain drugs. It is frequently performed in critically injured, ill or anesthetized patients to facilitate ventilation of the lungs, including mechanical ventilation, and to prevent the possibility of asphyxiation or airway obstruction. The most widely used route is orotracheal, in which an endotracheal tube is passed through the mouth and vocal apparatus into the trachea. In a nasotracheal procedure, an endotracheal tube is passed through the nose and vocal apparatus into the trachea. Other methods of intubation involve surgery and include the cricothyrotomy (used almost exclusively in emergency circumstances) and the tracheotomy, used primarily in situations where a prolonged need for airway support is anticipated. Because it is an invasive and extremely uncomfortable medical procedure, intubation is usually performed after administration of general anesthesia and a neuromuscular-blocking drug. It can however be performed in the awake patient with local or topical anesthesia, or in an emergency without any anesthesia at all. Intubation is normally facilitated by using a conventional laryngoscope, flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope or video laryngoscope to identify the glottis, though other devices and techniques are available. After the trachea has been intubated, a balloon cuff is typically inflated near the far end of the tube to help secure it in place, to prevent leakage of respi...