Ep. 159 Deep Dive: Trends in Prehospital First-Attempt Use of Supraglottic Airwasy in Non-Cardiac Arrest Patients: A Descriptive Study

Welcome to the Prehospital Emergency Care Journal Podcast!

In this Deep Dive episode, host Maia Dorsett speaks with Aaron E. Robinson, Sarah K. S. Knack, and Michael C. Perlmutter about their paper, Trends in Prehospital First-Attempt Use of Supraglottic Airways in Non-Cardiac Arrest Patients: A Descriptive Study.

The conversation explores how airway management in EMS may be evolving, including growing interest in supraglottic airways as a first-line approach rather than solely a rescue device. The authors discuss key airway concepts—such as RSI, DSI, and rapid sequence airway—and review what their national dataset reveals about current practice patterns. Along the way, they examine variations in medication strategies, including the continued use of sedation-only approaches and airway placement without neuromuscular blockade or medications. The discussion raises important questions about how EMS clinicians balance speed, safety, and skill maintenance when managing critically ill airways in the field.

Featured Article

Robinson, A. E., Knack, S. K. S., Driver, B. E., Prekker, M. E., Perlmutter, M. C., Bunting, A. J., … Puskarich, M. A. (2026). Trends in Prehospital First-Attempt Use of Supraglottic Airways in Non-Cardiac Arrest Patients: A Descriptive Study. Prehospital Emergency Care, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/10903127.2025.2593579

As always THANK YOU for listening.

Hawnwan Philip Moy MD (@pecpodcast)

Scott Goldberg MD, MPH (@EMS_Boston)

Jeremiah Escajeda MD, MPH (@jerescajeda)

Joelle Donofrio-Odmann DO (@PEMems)

Maia Dorsett MD PhD (@maiadorsett)

Lekshmi Kumar MD, MPH(@Gradymed1)

Greg Muller DO (@DrMuller_DO)

Ariana Weber MD (@aweberMD4)

Rebecca Cash PhD (@CashRebeccaE)

Michael Kim MD (@michaeljukim)

Rachel Stemerman PhD (@steminformatics)

Nikolai Arendovich MD