In patients with cervical spine injury, securing the airway while adequately immobilizing the cervical spine to avoid secondary neurological damage is very challenging. Although awake fiber-optic intubation is the most reliable method in patients with cervical trauma, it has some limitations such as lack of availability, need for expertise in the use, difficulty with non-cooperative patients, or presence of blood or secretions in the airway. Two devices are commonly used to facilitate tracheal intubation: a stylet or a tracheal tube introducer ("bougie").
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Time required for intubation.
Timeframe: 30 seconds - 2 minutes