This is the largest series of physician pre-hospital tracheal intubation; the success rate of 99.3% is consistent with other reported data. All rescue airways were successful. Non-anaesthetists were twice as likely to have to perform a rescue airway intervention than anaesthetists. Surgical airway rates reported here (0.7%) are lower than most other physician-led series (median 3.1%, range 0.1-7.7%).

phRTx was associated with increased survival to hospital, but not overall survival. The "delay death" effect of phRTx carries an impetus to further develop in-hospital strategies to improve survival in severely bleeding patients.

No abstract