Intubation is a medical procedure consisting of inserting a probe into the trachea. This routine procedure in hospitals, particularly in anesthesia and intensive care, isolates and protects the upper airways, and ventilates the patient if necessary.

Tracheal intubation is a medical procedure consisting of inserting a tube, called an endotracheal tube, into the trachea, passing either through the mouth, more rarely through the nose.

Intubation is performed by a doctor, under scope monitoring with heart rate and ECG tracing. A sedation product can be injected into the patient if needed, and conditions allow.

Intubation is done using a medical device called a laryngoscope, which will help guide the gesture with better visibility thanks to a light probe. With the patient’s head in hyperextension, the blade of the laryngoscope is inserted into the mouth, up to the glottis, then the intubation tube is slipped into the trachea.

The probe is then connected to different devices, depending on the indication and the circumstances of the intubation:

• a device with manual ventilation;
• a respirator;
• a suction system.

The intubated patient requires constant monitoring in intensive care or intensive care.

Intubation has different objectives:

• free the airways;
• allow assisted ventilation, that is to say respiratory assistance for the patient;
• protect the airways from inhalation of digestive secretions;
• aspirate tracheobronchial secretions.

Intubation can therefore be used in different medical situations:

• during surgery under general anesthesia: intubation prevents the tongue from falling back against the pharynx, prevents gastric reflux into the trachea and the implementation of assisted ventilation;
• in the event of airway obstruction due to ingestion of a foreign body;
• in the event of acute respiratory distress or cardio-respiratory arrest;
• in an unconscious patient (Glasgow
• in the event of trauma to the face.

Intubation is an invasive procedure that involves various risks.

Immediate risks, at the time of intubation:

• difficult intubation;
• dental, nasal, pharyngolaryngeal trauma;
• a bronchospasme, a laryngospasme;
• a heart rhythm disorder;
• reventilation collapse;
• Mendelson’s syndrome (inflammation of the lungs caused by inhaling gastric secretions into the bronchi).

Or remotely:

• nosocomial pneumonia;
• damage to the vocal cords;
• turbinate lesions or sinusitis (for nasotracheal intubation).