Examination of patterns in intubation by an emergency airway team at a large academic center: higher frequency during daytime hours.

Adams, M Christopher; Schmidt, Ulrich; Hess, Dean R; Stelfox, Henry T; Bittner, Edward A

BACKGROUND Emergency airway management represents an event with high acuity but unpredictable frequency and therefore presents a challenge for adequate staffing. Given circadian and seasonal variations, we hypothesized that the majority of emergency airway events happen after normal working hours and during the winter months. METHODS A retrospective analysis of 1,482 intubations by an emergency airway team over a 3-y period was performed. The data were obtained from hospitalized patients who required emergency airway management in a large academic medical center. A database of emergency airway consultations was analyzed for intubation time and date information, as well as geographic location within the hospital. RESULTS A greater percentage of emergency intubations occurred during day shift hours (7 am to 7 pm) compared with night shift hours, 57% and 43%, respectively (P < .01). The monthly frequency of intubations was not uniformly distributed across the year (P < .01). The greatest percentage of intubations was performed in February (10.9%), with the lowest being recorded in August (4.7%). CONCLUSIONS Emergency airway service utilization is highest during daytime hours, with seasonal variations composed of higher consults in the winter and lower consults in the summer.