A recent publication from the National Emergency Airway Registry (NEAR) profiles the incidence and factors associated with peri-intubation cardiac arrest*.  Across over 15,000 intubations, 1% of patients experienced a cardiac arrest.  Unsurprisingly, hypotensive and hypoxic patients suffered peri-intubation cardiac arrests at a much higher rate than those without hypoxia or hypotension.  3.5% of patients in the overall cohort died.  In contrast, 32.5% of patients who had peri-intubation cardiac arrest died.  This study affirms the need to support blood pressure and augment oxygenation before intubation to improve our patients’ outcomes.

* Reference: April MD, Arana A, Reynolds JC, et al. Peri-intubation cardiac arrest in the Emergency Department: A National Emergency Airway Registry (NEAR) study. Resuscitation. Published online 2021. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2021.02.039