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medic pathetic
07-03-2006, 03:47 PM
Wasn't this a question not to long ago? Which did people prefer? Maybe not. All mu convos have been running together lately...


Abstract of the Week

Prehosp Emerg Care. 2006 Jan-Mar;10(1):8-13



A comparison of rapid-sequence intubation and etomidate-only intubation in the prehospital air medical setting.



Bozeman WP, Kleiner DM, Huggett V.



OBJECTIVES

To compare laryngoscopy conditions produced by etomidate-only intubation (EOI) with those produced by rapid-sequence intubation (RSI) in the prehospital air medical setting.



METHODS

A prospective crossover trial design used two helicopters staffed by the same flight paramedics and nurses. Each aircraft used an EOI protocol (0.3 mg/kg) for six months. An RSI protocol using the same dose of etomidate plus succinylcholine (1.5 mg/kg) was used for the alternate six months. Laryngoscopy conditions were graded by three scales: 1) a formal Laryngoscopy Grading Scale (LGS), 2) the Percentage of Glottic Opening (POGO) score, and 3) subjective overall intubation difficulty using a Likert scale of 1 (very easy) to 5 (very difficult). Orotracheal intubation success was also recorded.



RESULTS

Forty-nine patients were intubated using the EOI (n = 24) and RSI (n = 25) protocols. Mean age was 38 years, 76% were male, and 90% were intubated for trauma. Fifteen (63%) of the 24 EOI patients required additional etomidate (n = 3) or RSI (n = 12) to allow intubation, while one (4%) of the 25 RSI patients required additional medication dosing (p < 0.0001). Laryngoscopy conditions were assessed for all patients. Good or acceptable conditions as assessed by the LGS were seen in 79% of RSI patients and 13% of EOI patients (p < 0.0001). Mean rates of POGO visualization were 60% with RSI and 12% with EOI (p < 0.0001). Mean global intubation difficulty scores were 3.0 (moderate) with RSI and 4.7 (difficult to very difficult) with EOI (p < 0.0001). Ninety-two percent of the patients undergoing RSI and 25% of the EOI patients were successfully orotracheally intubated (p < 0.0001).



CONCLUSIONS

Patients receiving RSI had better laryngoscopy conditions and were easier to intubate than patients receiving EOI. Intubation success rate was higher with RSI.

AZCEP
07-03-2006, 04:55 PM
Really depends on the situation, but I can't help thinking that if you are going to do something, do it right the first time.

drthrockmorton
07-28-2006, 04:29 PM
Sounds as though more and more modalities are being taken away from Paramedics. RSI (rapid sequence induction) is the standard in emergency departments, not EOI (etomidate only intubation). I get the impression that more and more Medical Directors are becoming uncomfortable with paramedic care, therefore making it "safer" for the patients and more "error-proof" for paramedics in the field. Has this study been performed in the hospital setting? Probably not!

From the study, clearly RSI is the proper standard of care.

Unfortunately the current trend to limit abilities and question prehospital providers' skills is a steep slope the EMS community needs to resolve. Better education, higher standards, and point-of-care treatment need to be emphasized.