A portrait of First Lady Anna Harrison, wife of President William Henry Harrison Anna Harrison. Courtesy US Library of Congress. She never even entered the White House -- she had delayed coming to Washington, and had not yet traveled there when her husband, William Harrison, died a month after his inauguration.
When the patient is unable to breathe or there is damage or swelling in the airway that prevents air from moving in and out of the lungs, intubation may be necessary to save the patientâs life. Some states permit RNs to intubate patients for emergency purposes or to administer anesthesia.
Hereâs some follow up. Though first a bit of preamble on context. For the US readers, it takes a lot to get into an ICU over here. Most of our non-invasive ventilation and DKA patients and lots of other folk that you might send to the âICUâ go to a ward here. From what I read/listen to, there are a lot more patients going to ICUs in the US, and a lot less sick patients in the ICU. For starters, intubation is of course just one part of the care. Itâs all well and good intubating an obtunded leaking AAA but it kind of misses the point. Intubating someone, while a vital part of management, is rarely going to fix the problem in isolation.