[History of Tracheal Intubation: 2. Use for Prevention of Airway Obstruction].

Abstract

Macewen, who was the first to perform tracheal intubation in a patient undergoing surgery under gen- eral anesthesia, described four people (Desault, Bou- chut, Schrötter and Trendelenburg) who had per- formed tracheal intubation (without general anesthe- sia), before Macewen. I have reanalyzed the Macewen's description and have confirmed that these descriptions are generally accurate. I have found that the main aim of tracheal intubation in reported cases was to prevent airway obstruction. I also estimated the date when they performed tracheal intubation. Through the liter- ature search, I have found several other people who performed tracheal intubation even before Desault, with different aims.