Mortality after emergency department intubation

The purpose of this study is to identify the rate of emergency department (ED) intubation and the mortality associated with ED intubation.

We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients intubated in the ED between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2004 at an urban level one trauma centre with approximately 50,000 ED visits annually. All ED intubations were identified and reviewed. Two investigators reviewed all charts and collected the following data: age, sex, and final disposition from hospital as well as reason for intubation. The main outcome measure was survival to hospital discharge.

One hundred sixty-three intubations were reviewed. Of the total 163 patients, 44 (27.0%) died prior to discharge from the hospital, 42 (25.8.%) patients were discharged to a skilled nursing facility (e.g. nursing home, rehabilitation and extended care facility) and 71 (43.6%) patients were discharged home. Dividing our cohort into trauma and non-trauma subgroups, 38/126 (30.2%) of the non-trauma patients and 6/37 (16.2.%) of the trauma patients died. The mean age for all patients in our study group was 61.5 years, with trauma patients being younger than the non-trauma subgroup. The mean age for trauma patients was 50.1 while non-trauma patients had a mean age of 64.8.

The mortality after an ED intubation in our study population was relatively high. Further studies need to confirm these findings and help identify predictors of mortality.