LAUSR

Management of the airway remains a challenge in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The limited functional reserves of patients admitted to intensive care, and their precarious hemodynamic and respiratory conditions, cause orotracheal intubation (OTI) in the ICU to be more difficult than when performed on an elective basis in the operating room. The technique can result in serious complications (hypoxemia, arterial hypotension, esophageal intubation, selective bronchial intubation, etc.) in up to 30--40% of all cases, and this poses an added risk for the already weakened individual. From the study published by Taboada et al. it can be inferred that such complications are not dependent upon the environment, the professional performing the technique or the time of day when OTI is carried out, but on the critical patient. This recent article reported similar complication rates among patients admitted to an ICU staffed by specialists in anesthesia and resuscitation, as well as the same number of complications during both the day and night shifts, and on holidays. In parallel to publication of the British guidelines on the management of OTI in adult patients, Gómez-Prieto et al. presented a national survey on management of the airway in Spanish ICUs, with the purpose of describing their organization, available resources and teaching programs, as well as to determine whether these aspects differ according to