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Airway & ventilation
VAPOX preoxygenation in ED intubation
Efficacy and Safety of Ventilator Assisted Preoxygenation for Intubation in Two Australian Emergency Departments: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Emergency Medicine Australasia · Added 22 September 2026
Australian retrospective cohort of 116 patients intubated with ventilator-assisted preoxygenation (VAPOX) in two EDs — 78% achieved first-pass success without hypoxaemia, but half had at least one complication and 36% became hypotensive after intubation
- Study type
- Cohort
- Design
- Retrospective cohort study in two Australian EDs
- Participants
- 116 adults intubated with VAPOX
- Main finding
- First-pass success without hypoxaemia in 78% (95% CI 69–84%); overall first-pass success 91%; hypoxaemia 17%; post-intubation hypotension 36%; no aspiration; respiratory failure reduced success (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.04–0.52)
- Caveat
- Retrospective design with no comparator group
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (High relevance). transferability — Australian data directly relevant to preoxygenation before intubation (CMG 3B, ICP-only) — VAPOX is an ED ventilator setup, but the oxygenation physiology and complication profile inform how ICPs prep a physiologically difficult airway
Learning goal
Update my approach to preoxygenation before intubation by weighing ventilator-assisted techniques against standard bag-mask methods.
More
- Topic: Airway & ventilation
- Daily scan: 22 September 2026
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