A trauma patient may need to be intubated if certain clinical conditions are present.
Indications for endotracheal intubation:
(1) head injury with Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) <= 8
(2) shock
(3) airway obstruction
(4) apnea in a pediatric patient
(5) combative patient requiring sedation
(6) prior to general anesthesia
(7) chest trauma with hypoventilation
(8) hypoxia after initial resuscitation
(9) cardiac arrest
Intubation of a patient with possible cervical injury can be performed by manually stabilizing the head and neck with the patient on a long spine board. It is important to protect the airway from aspiration of gastric contents.
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