Prophylactic endotracheal intubation in critically ill patients undergoing endoscopy for upper GI hemorrhage

Cardiopulmonary complications are common after endoscopy for upper GI (UGI) hemorrhage in the intensive care unit (ICU).

To evaluate the practice and outcome of elective prophylactic endotracheal intubation before endoscopy for UGI hemorrhage in the ICU.

Retrospective, propensity-matched case-control study.

A 24-bed medical ICU in a tertiary center.

ICU patients who underwent endoscopy for UGI hemorrhage.

Cardiopulmonary complications, ICU and hospital length of stay, and mortality. In a propensity analysis, patients who were intubated for airway protection before UGI endoscopy were matched by probability of intubation to controls who were not intubated before UGI endoscopy.

Of 307 patients, 53 underwent elective prophylactic intubation before UGI endoscopy. The probability of intubation depended on the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III (APACHE III) score (OR 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.6), age (OR 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.09), the presence of hemetemesis (OR 1.9; 95% CI, 0.8-5.1), previous lung disease (OR 2.1; 95% CI, 0.8-4.9), and the number of transfusions (OR 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.1 per unit). Nonintubated matched controls were identified for all but 4 patients with active massive hemetemesis, who were excluded from matched analysis. Cumulative incidence of cardiopulmonary complications (53% vs 45%, P = .414), ICU length of stay (median 2.2 vs 1.8 days, P = .138), hospital length of stay (6.9 vs 5.9 days, P = .785), and hospital mortality (14% vs 20%, P = .366) were similar.

Cardiopulmonary complications are frequent after endoscopy for acute UGI bleeding in ICU patients and are largely unaffected by the practice of prophylactic intubation.