Endotracheal Intubation: Gold Standard of Airway Care

Endotracheal intubation (ETI) is the placement of an endotracheal tube in the trachea for safe and effective management of airway, ventilation and to protect the lungs from soiling. ETI could be elective, urgent, or lifesaving. It could be technically easy, difficult or can fail. Consequences of difficulty or failure can vary from being insignificant to fatal depending on the way the whole process is managed. Technique is only a part of overall airway management, which in turn is a part of patient management. Different aspects of ETI are covered here.