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Bougie Use in Emergency Airway Management

Bougie Use in Emergency Airway Management

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02902146
Acronym
BEAM
Enrollment
757
Registered
2016-09-15
Start date
2016-09-27
Completion date
2017-08-20
Last updated
2019-06-11

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Acute Respiratory Failure

Brief summary

This prospective, open-label trial randomizes adult patients intubated in the ED with a Macintosh blade to use or not use a bougie for the first intubation attempt. The primary outcome is first pass success.

Detailed description

The primary analysis for all outcomes will be for those with a difficult airway characteristic (defined as any of: cervical immobility, obesity, large tongue, short neck, small mandible, facial or neck trauma, airway edema, blood in the airway, or vomit in the airway). We will also analyze all outcomes for all patients enrolled, regardless of whether they have a difficult airway characteristic. We plan to enroll 374 patients with a difficult airway characteristic (DAC). The total enrollment for the trial will be higher, depending on the proportion of patients that have a DAC. Based on observational data, we aim to detect a 9% absolute difference in first pass success (95% with bougie compared to 86% without the bougie), which requires enrollment of 374 patients with a DAC. To help achieve balanced randomization for patients with a DAC, patients are stratified into two groups: 1) obese or cervical immobilization present and 2) not obese and no cervical immobilization.

Interventions

DEVICEBougie
DEVICEEndotracheal tube

Sponsors

Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. The patient must be undergoing orotracheal intubation in the ED with a Macintosh blade (using either video or direct laryngoscopy) 2. The patient must be presumed to be 18 years of age or older at the time of enrollment.

Exclusion criteria

1. Known anatomic distortion of the upper airway or perilaryngeal structures. 2. Prisoner or under arrest 3. Known or suspected to be pregnant, based on the opinion of the treating physician.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Number of Participants With First Pass Success5 minutesFirst pass success is defined as placement of the endotracheal tube (ETT) into the trachea on the first attempt. An attempt begins when the laryngoscope enters the mouth, and ends if either of the following occur: 1. the laryngoscope leaves the mouth, regardless of whether an attempt was made to pass the endotracheal tube or bougie. 2. if the operator cannot intubate the trachea with the first tube device (ETT or bougie), and switches to any other tube device, even if the laryngoscope blade remains in the mouth. A patient will be considered to achieve the primary outcome if they are intubated successfully on the first attempt.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
First Pass Success Without Hypoxemia5 minutesFirst pass success without hypoxemia. Hypoxemia is defined as a pulse oximetry value (SpO2) less than 90% at any point during intubation, or a drop of more than 10% from baseline if starting below 90%. The outcome of hypoxemia will be recorded beginning when the first attempt begins and ending one minute after inflation of the ETT cuff. A patient will be considered to achieve this outcome if 1) they are intubated successfully on the first attempt, and 2) do not experience hypoxemia on the first attempt.
Time to Intubation (First Attempt)5 minutesTime to intubation will be defined as the time elapsed between the beginning of the intubation attempt to inflation of the ETT cuff when the tube is in the trachea.
Esophageal Intubation5 minutesdefined as passage of the ETT into the esophagus, with subsequent ventilation, and then removal. Clinically, esophageal intubation is identified by the absence of end-tidal carbon dioxide, abnormal physical exam, and hypoxia. This does not count passage of the ETT into the esophagus during the attempt if the ETT is removed during the attempt.
Hypoxemia5 minutesHypoxemia is defined as a pulse oximetry value (SpO2) less than 90% at any point during intubation, or a drop of more than 10% from baseline if starting below 90%. The outcome of hypoxemia will be recorded beginning when the first attempt begins and ending one minute after inflation of the ETT cuff.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Bougie
On the first intubation attempt, this arm will attempt to place a bougie into the trachea, followed by an endotracheal tube. Bougie
381
No Bougie (Endotracheal Tube First)
On the first intubation attempt, this arm will attempt to place an endotracheal tube into the trachea directly. Endotracheal tube
376
Total757

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicBougieNo Bougie (Endotracheal Tube First)Total
Age, Continuous46 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 18
46 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 18
46 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 18
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected0 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
109 Participants121 Participants230 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
272 Participants255 Participants527 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 00 / 0
other
Total, other adverse events
47 / 37150 / 374
serious
Total, serious adverse events
12 / 38111 / 376

Outcome results

Primary

Number of Participants With First Pass Success

First pass success is defined as placement of the endotracheal tube (ETT) into the trachea on the first attempt. An attempt begins when the laryngoscope enters the mouth, and ends if either of the following occur: 1. the laryngoscope leaves the mouth, regardless of whether an attempt was made to pass the endotracheal tube or bougie. 2. if the operator cannot intubate the trachea with the first tube device (ETT or bougie), and switches to any other tube device, even if the laryngoscope blade remains in the mouth. A patient will be considered to achieve the primary outcome if they are intubated successfully on the first attempt.

Time frame: 5 minutes

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
BougieNumber of Participants With First Pass Success373 Participants
No Bougie (Endotracheal Tube First)Number of Participants With First Pass Success328 Participants
Secondary

Esophageal Intubation

defined as passage of the ETT into the esophagus, with subsequent ventilation, and then removal. Clinically, esophageal intubation is identified by the absence of end-tidal carbon dioxide, abnormal physical exam, and hypoxia. This does not count passage of the ETT into the esophagus during the attempt if the ETT is removed during the attempt.

Time frame: 5 minutes

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
BougieEsophageal Intubation0 Participants
No Bougie (Endotracheal Tube First)Esophageal Intubation3 Participants
Secondary

First Pass Success Without Hypoxemia

First pass success without hypoxemia. Hypoxemia is defined as a pulse oximetry value (SpO2) less than 90% at any point during intubation, or a drop of more than 10% from baseline if starting below 90%. The outcome of hypoxemia will be recorded beginning when the first attempt begins and ending one minute after inflation of the ETT cuff. A patient will be considered to achieve this outcome if 1) they are intubated successfully on the first attempt, and 2) do not experience hypoxemia on the first attempt.

Time frame: 5 minutes

Population: The patients not included in this number had no oximetry waveform available

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
BougieFirst Pass Success Without Hypoxemia317 Participants
No Bougie (Endotracheal Tube First)First Pass Success Without Hypoxemia282 Participants
Secondary

Hypoxemia

Hypoxemia is defined as a pulse oximetry value (SpO2) less than 90% at any point during intubation, or a drop of more than 10% from baseline if starting below 90%. The outcome of hypoxemia will be recorded beginning when the first attempt begins and ending one minute after inflation of the ETT cuff.

Time frame: 5 minutes

Population: The patients not included in these numbers did not have a valid oximetry waveform during intubation.

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
BougieHypoxemia47 Participants
No Bougie (Endotracheal Tube First)Hypoxemia50 Participants
Secondary

Time to Intubation (First Attempt)

Time to intubation will be defined as the time elapsed between the beginning of the intubation attempt to inflation of the ETT cuff when the tube is in the trachea.

Time frame: 5 minutes

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
BougieTime to Intubation (First Attempt)38 seconds
No Bougie (Endotracheal Tube First)Time to Intubation (First Attempt)36 seconds

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 24, 2026