Endotracheal intubation and emergency airway equipment

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Target exams

Red flags

• A child with respiratory failure, a Glasgow Coma Scale of 8 or less, severe shock, or cardiac arrest who cannot protect or maintain the airway — secure a definitive airway now rather than watching the saturation fall
• A tube placed but never confirmed with waveform capnography — unrecognised oesophageal intubation is catastrophic and preventable; never assume the position from chest rise alone
• Repeated failed laryngoscopy attempts with falling saturation — stop, ventilate with a bag-mask, reposition, and call for senior or anaesthetic help before the next attempt
• An infant who becomes bradycardic during laryngoscopy — vagal and hypoxic; stop at once, ventilate with 100 per cent oxygen, and give chest compressions if the rate stays low and perfusion is poor
• Right main bronchus intubation from a tube passed too deep — withdraw until breath sounds are equal and confirm the depth on a chest radiograph
• A cuffed tube inflated to a high pressure and left in situ — cricoid ischaemia, post-extubation stridor and subglottic stenosis; keep the cuff pressure low and the dwell time short

Life stages

Care settings

Clinical exam formats

Board mappings

• General and Community Paediatrics
• Recognition and management of the acutely ill child
• Procedural skills — airway management and endotracheal intubation
• Emergency and resuscitation medicine
• Current 2026 PREP curriculum — recognise, prioritise and manage an acutely ill child including emergency airway management
• Clinical Applications
• Medical Sciences
• Procedural skills
• Short Cases
• Structured oral — acutely ill or collapsing child with airway compromise
• 1.4 Safely and appropriately performs practical procedures and uses medical devices
• 4. Patient management
• 8. Patient safety
• Foundation of Practice (FOP)
• Applied Knowledge in Practice (AKP)
• Clinical — structured oral and resuscitation with airway management
• General Pediatrics Content Outline — Emergency Medicine; Airway management; Procedural skills
• Universal Task 4: Management and Treatment
• Patient Care 1: procedural competency
• Systems-Based Practice
• Medical Expert
• Collaborator
• Pediatrics: Procedural skill — endotracheal intubation