Intubation

Lauren Ellerman

Contributor

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Intubation is the insertion of a tube into the patient's airway to allow mechanical ventilation.

Car accident victims, someone with swollen airway, difficult breathing - most EMT's, flight nurses, and emergency room physicians know how to create an airway to allow for breathing. You may have even heard urban legends of someone using ball point pens to create airways.

They are often required - yet mistakes seem to happen frequently, and results can be devastating.

We have had cases where emergency personnel failed to intubate, and surgical airway was not done - and in New York state this year, a wrongful death suit settled for $650,000 for the same type of incident - failure to timely or properly intubate.