The clinical significance of a failed initial intubation attempt during emergency department resuscitation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients

Abstract Objective Advanced airway management is one of the fundamental skills of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS). A failed initial intubation attempt (FIIA) is common and has shown to be associated with adverse events. We analysed the association between FIIA and the overall effectiveness of ACLS. Methods Using emergency department (ED) out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) registry data from 2008 to 2012, non-traumatic ED-resuscitated adult OHCA patients on whom endotracheal intubation was initially tried were identified. Prehospital and demographic factors and patient outcomes were retrieved from the registry. The presence of a FIIA was determined by reviewing nurse-documented CPR records. The primary outcome was achieving a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The secondary outcomes were time to ROSC and the ROSC rate during the first 30 min of ED resuscitation. Results The study population ( n = 512) was divided into two groups based on the presence of a FIIA ( N = 77). Both groups were comparable without significant differences in demographic or prehospital factors. In the FIIA group, the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for achieving a ROSC were 0.50 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.31–0.81) and 0.40 (95% CI, 0.23–0.71), respectively. Multivariable median regression analysis revealed that FIIA was associated with an average delay of 3 min in the time to ROSC (3.08; 95% CI, 0.08–5.80). Competing risk regression analysis revealed a significantly slower ROSC rate during the first 15 min (adjusted subhazard ratio, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.35–0.79) in the FIIA group. Conclusion FIIA is an independent risk factor for the decreased effectiveness of ACLS.