Use of the endotracheal bougie introducer for difficult intubations.

A difficult to intubate patient occurs infrequently in the emergency department. The endotracheal tube introducer or gum elastic bougie is a device used by British anesthesiologists in difficult airways. The device is inexpensive, has few complications and is easy to use. Similar to the Seldinger technique for gaining access to a large central vein, the endotracheal tube introducer is used to assist in cannulating the trachea and acts like the wire in central vein access.