What is intubation?
Intubation is the introduction of a breathing tube into the trachea or pharynx of a patient during an operation or in an emergency to secure the airways and breathing. Various ventilation systems are available for intubation, which can be selected according to the planned procedure and individually for each patient.
What is the correct procedure for intubation?
After administration of the medication, the patient must be ventilated, as he is no longer able to do this himself due to the muscle relaxant administered. The head is overextended and the patient is ventilated by mask. Now the laryngoscope is carefully advanced and the tongue is pushed to the side.
This should allow you to see the vocal folds and glottis. If this is not the case, you can get a better view by pressing on the larynx or use a video laryngoscope. Now the tube is pushed along the laryngoscope between the two vocal folds into the glottis and blocked with a blocker syringe, i.e. the cuff on the tube is inflated so that it cannot slip.
Now the stomach and lungs are listened to with a stethoscope to make sure that the tube is correctly positioned in the trachea. To prevent the tube from moving, it is additionally fixed with a fastening strap. Afterwards a capnometer is connected, which measures the CO2 in the exhaled air.
If this cannot be measured, the tube is probably incorrectly positioned. If everything is correct, the tube is connected to the ventilator where the required parameters are set. You will find additional information under: Anaesthetic induction
What is an intubation anesthesia?
Intubation anesthesia is a form of general anesthesia. After administration of the anesthetic drugs, an endotracheal tube (a kind of breathing tube) is inserted into the patient’s trachea to ensure ventilation. In general anesthesia, in addition to hypnotics and painkillers, muscle relaxants are used, the effect of which prevents the patient from breathing.
It also facilitates the insertion of the tube (intubation), which is used to control breathing during the operation. Intubation anesthesia is required if local anesthesia is not sufficient or if the affected area cannot be anesthetized in this way, e.g. operations in the chest and abdominal area, on the heart, head, emergency operations, etc. An advantage of intubation anesthesia is the secured airways. Through the tube, it is unlikely that aspiration, i.e. the penetration of foreign bodies or food remains, into the airways will occur. Disadvantages are risks of injury to the teeth, larynx and trachea.
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