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Introduction: Intubation is one of the highest-risk procedures performed in the emergency department (ED) on a regular basis. The British Columbia Airway Registry for Emergencies (BCARE) Network collects data from every ED intubation at two tertiary care centres and one community centre and serves as a valuable quality improvement tool. We compared intubation techniques, success, and complication rates between emergency medicine physicians and trainees. Methods: We completed an observational study of all patients intubated in the ED by resident trainees or attending physicians over a period of 28 months from July 2017 to November 2019. Respiratory therapists (RTs) completed a standardized data collection form after every intubation and the data was used to analyze techniques, success, and complication rates. Form completion compliance was periodically reviewed by cross-referencing patient names in the BCARE network with the radiology database for chest x-rays that were performed after intubation in the hospital. Results: 642 intubations were performed by EM physicians: 66 by PGY1-2 residents,141 by PGY3-5 residents, and 435 by staff physicians. Airway assessment prior to intubation was completed by PGY1-2 in 78.1% of cases, PGY3-5 in 67.9%, and staff in 62.6%. Direct laryngoscopy (DL) was chosen as first-choice technique 24.2% by PGY1-2, 24.8% by PGY3-5, and 30.1% by attending physicians. Bougie was used 2.7% of cases for all groups. First-pass success was 78.8% for PGY1-2, 86.5% for PGY3-5, and 85.7% for staff. Mean number of attempts were similar at 1.24, 1.18, and 1.20 for R1-2, R3-5, and staff, respectively. There were similar complication rates between all groups, on average 16.9%, with the most common being hypoxemia prior to induction, and desaturation following induction. There was a higher rate of staff performing second intubation attempts following junior residents (50.0%) than senior residents (26.3%). Conclusion: Trainees have a stronger preference to use video laryngoscopy (VL) than staff physicians as their first-line technique. Success rates were similar between senior residents and attending physicians, but significantly lower in junior residents, despite number of attempts being similar between the three groups. Complication rates were similar among all 3 groups. This data may suggest that a stronger emphasis for DL use among trainees is important.
