Prophylactic pre-esophagogastroduodenoscopy tracheal intubation in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding

The indications for endotracheal intubation (ETI) during an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) procedure remain unclear. This study performed a descriptive analysis of patients who underwent prophylactic tracheal intubation during or before an EGD to prevent pulmonary aspiration. We selected patients with an upper gastrointestinal bleed in an intensive care unit who underwent EGD between 2000 and 2013. Eighty-nine patients who underwent pre-EGD tracheal intubation were analyzed. The main outcomes in this study were pulmonary aspiration, length of stay, and mortality. The average age of patients undergoing pre-EGD intubation was 61 years. The incidence of pulmonary aspiration was 38% in patients who underwent pre-EGD tracheal intubation. The patients requiring tracheal intubation had a mortality rate of 22% during hospitalization. Other complications in pre-EGD ETI patients included myocardial infarction (9%), acute respiratory distress syndrome (10%), and pulmonary edema (7%). In conclusion, the incidence of pulmonary aspiration with pre-EGD tracheal intubation in our patients was high (38%). Cardiopulmonary complications including myocardial infarction, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and pulmonary edema were high in intubated patients.