The ethical committee of the medical association of the
State of Rhineland-Palatinate approved the study and
the committee waived the need for specific written
informed consent. The study was performed in a 21-bed
anesthetist-lead adult surgical ICU of a tertiary-care university
teaching hospital.
This prospective, comparative, before-after study evaluated
the endotracheal intubations of critically ill
patients over a 2-year period in the ICU. Participating
physicians completed a standardized evaluation form
immediately after performing an endotracheal
intubation.