Intubation & Ventilation  Introduction

Intensive care doctors are frequently asked to assess patients who are in respiratory failure. The implication is that the patient may require ventilatory assistance. Intensivists must have a mechanism for evaluating patients, and deciding the best course of action. There are two steps in this process. The first step involves determining the nature of the patient’s respiratory failure. The second step is deciding whether or not the patient requires intubation and mechanical ventilation.

Learning Objectives

• To learn a logical method for determining the nature of respiratory failure.
• To determine whether or not a patient requires intubation and mechanical ventilation.
• To learn the process of intubation and commencement of mechanical ventilation.

Copyright Patrick Neligan 2001-2002

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