Development and Testing of a Neonatal Intubation Checklist for an Air Medical Transport Team

Objective: We developed a Neonatal Intubation Checklist for Airlift Northwest. Our goal was to improve the preparation, technical proficiency, and safety of neonatal intubation without increasing the time required to perform the procedure.

Methods: The Neonatal Intubation Checklist, a "call and response" checklist for neonatal intubation, was developed. Its effectiveness was evaluated during a baseline assessment and 2 practice sessions after a checklist orientation. Intubation proficiency was evaluated using a validated assessment tool that included a proficiency score, a global rating scale (GRS) score, and time to perform the procedure.

Results: Significant improvements in intubation proficiency and time to intubation were noted when teams used the intubation checklist (proficiency score: 29 [7] at baseline vs. 57 [1] with checklist, P < .001; GRS 2 [2, 2.5] at baseline vs. 5 [3, 5] with checklist, P < .001; baseline intubation time 626 [93] seconds vs. 479 (44) seconds with checklist, P < .001). These changes were associated with a large effect on proficiency (ƞ2 = 0.89), GRS (ƞ2 = 0.6), and time to successful intubation (ƞ2 = 0.52).

Conclusion: The use of the Neonatal Intubation Checklist improved transport team performance during simulated neonatal intubations and decreased the time required to successfully perform the procedure.