RT Book, Section A1 Yeatts, Dale J. A1 Farcy, David A. A1 Gens, David R. A2 Farcy, David A. A2 Chiu, William C. A2 Marshall, John P. A2 Osborn, Tiffany M. SR Print(0) ID 1135699622 T1 Emergency Surgical Airway T2 Critical Care Emergency Medicine, 2e YR 2016 FD 2016 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071838764 LK accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1135699622 RD 2024/04/18 AB The airway management of unstable and critically ill patients has always been an essential skill within the emergency physician's scope of practice. The early act of inserting an artificial airway protects the lungs from aspiration in an obtunded patient, or prevents hypoxia and carbon dioxide retention in a patient who cannot spontaneously breathe. This has been shown to improve neurologic outcome when performed early during the initial phase of resuscitation, and emergency physicians are often the first clinicians to perform intubation and initiate mechanical ventilation.1