Air medical tracheal intubation: establishing a threshold for this QA indicator.

Endotracheal intubation is a critical skill necessary in a number of situations encountered by air medical personnel. The purpose of this study was to establish a threshold for the quality assurance indicator of successful tracheal intubation in a physician-staffed air medical system. The records of all patients transported by a physician-staffed air medical system over a 36-month period were reviewed. One hundred and forty-three patients had endotracheal intubation attempted. Blind nasotracheal intubation attempts were successful in 71% of those in whom it was attempted, while the overall intubation success rate was 92%. Based on this study and the existing literature, a threshold of 90% is recommended for the quality assurance indicator of successful tracheal intubation in physician-staffed air medical systems.