Frequency of tracheal intubation associated adverse events and contributing factors in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Objective: To determine the frequency of adverse events associated with immediate tracheal intubation in children (1-18 years) from Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Tertiary Care Hospital of Karachi, Pakistan. Study Design: Observational study. Setting: PICU of the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi. Period: September 2020 to August 2021. Methods: A total of 183 intubations occurred during the study period. Data was extracted using the pre-designed peri-intubation proforma, data recorded on the checklist by the observer (Staff) who was fully trained by the Physician, later on compared by the researcher using the video recorded laryngoscopy used during the intubation procedure. Results: There were 183 intubations occurred during study period. Maximum intubations were in age group of 1-5 years (27.3%) and among total intubations, there were 11(6%) intubation related complications occurred. 6 (3.3%) cases have hypoxia, 3 (1.6%) bradycardia and 2 (1.1%) others (hypotension and esophageal intubation). Majority of the complications were observed during morning hours with statistically significant association. 63.60% TI related cases survived whereas 36.40% of them expired, 54.5% stayed in PICU for 0-10 days. Conclusion: Tracheal intubation related adverse events were 6% and majority of them lead to hypoxia. Physiological and mechanical complications with the procedure do occur inspite of our best efforts. Recognizing the complications associated with tracheal intubation can help physicians better care for patients requiring intubation.