Effect of Out-of-Hospital Pediatric Endotracheal Intubation on Survival and Neurological Outcome

Abstract

Although bag-valve-mask ventilation (BVM) and endotracheal intubation (ETI) are both widely used in the out-of-hospital setting in caring for critically ill or injured children, there has been no controlled study comparing the outcomes of pediatric or adult patients treated with these 2 procedures. In 1 out-of-hospital study, BVM did compare favorably to non-ETI advanced airway management techniques (pharyngeal tracheal lumen, laryngeal mask, and esophageal tracheal combination esophageal-tracheal tube) among adults and children, as measured by PO₂ and PCO₂ values on arrival in the emergency department (ED), frequency of vomiting, and patient outcome.¹