Board Certification

Improved Airway Management

Emergency Department Airway Management Before and After an Emergency Medicine Residency

Laurence Friedman, M.D., Gary V. Vilke, M.D., Teodore C. Chan, M.D., Stephen R. Hayden, M.D., David A. Guss, M.D., Scott J. Krishel, M.D., and Peter Rosen, M.D.

J Emerg Med. 1991;3:427-431.

This study was undertaken to determine whether the start of an Emergency Medicine residency-training program affects the appropriateness, timeliness, and safety of Emergency Department intubations.

All intubations performed in a university Emergency Department from July 1, 1988 through June 30, 1989, the year before the start of an Emergency Medicine residency program and July 1, 1991 through June 30, 1992, the year after the residency program began were reviewed.

The introduction of the residency program did not lead to inappropriate intubations or an increase in complications. Importantly, airway management was improved as the rate of improper failure to intubate was halved after the start of the Emergency Medicine residency program.