Analysis of prehospital endotracheal intubation performed by emergency physicians: retrospective survey of a single emergency medical center in Japan

Objectives Advanced airway management in the prehospital setting is a serious issue in Japan because emergency medical technicians are not authorized to perform such management, whereas physicians—who are authorized to perform advanced airway management—do not usually engage in prehospital emergency medical activity. The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the success rate for endotracheal intubation (ETI) procedures and other methods of airway management employed by physicians in the prehospital setting in a single institution, as well as to examine the risk factors associated with difficult or failed endotracheal intubation (D/F ETI).