Jonathan Casey

December 10, 2025

Sedative choice could improve outcomes for breathing tube patients

It’s the first study to demonstrate cardiovascular risks of high doses of ketamine (low blood pressure, arrhythmia), side effects that have not been well studied in the past.

By Craig Boerner
(iStock image)
December 16, 2024

VUMC awarded $26.4 million for patient-centered research

The awards support research efforts to identify optimal approaches to improving health care and health outcomes for patients, families and the community.

By Bill Snyder
(file photo by Anne Rayner)
December 5, 2024

VUMC to study effect of breathing tube size on breathing, speaking, swallowing

Approximately 1% of the U.S. population — 2 million to 3 million adults — experience critical illness requiring the placement of a breathing tube each year.

By Nancy Humphrey
June 13, 2024

Multicenter study identifies method of preoxygenation that prevents hypoxemia and cardiac arrest during emergency tracheal intubation

Preoxygenation is the administration of supplemental oxygen prior to the start of a procedure to increase the content of oxygen in the lung and decrease the risk of hypoxemia

By Nancy Humphrey
June 16, 2023

Study shows video laryngoscope increases successful intubation on first attempt

A Vanderbilt study study comparing the two types of laryngoscopes used in tracheal intubation of critically ill patients showed that the use of a video laryngoscope increased successful intubation on the first attempt, compared to the use of a direct laryngoscope, the standard approach for almost a century.

By Nancy Humphrey
February 9, 2023

American Society for Clinical Investigation honors 10 Vanderbilt physicians

By Bill Snyder
June 20, 2022

Study finds administering IV fluids during emergency tracheal intubation does not lower cardiac arrest risk

Rapidly administering IV fluids to critically ill adults undergoing emergency tracheal intubation does not significantly decrease chances of hypotension (low blood pressure) and cardiac arrest, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center-led study shows.
By Nancy Humphrey
April 13, 2022

Best way to place patients on breathing machines studied

Starting on April 4, Vanderbilt providers initiated the “Randomized Trial of Sedative Choice for Intubation” (RSI) study to determine whether ketamine or etomidate is better for preventing low blood pressure, low oxygen levels, serious heart problems, or even death for severely ill patients undergoing intubation.
By Kylie Avery
December 15, 2021

Study finds similar success rates with two devices for breathing tube placement

Two devices for placing a breathing tube during critical illness had similar success rates for intubation on the first attempt, according to a study published Dec. 8 in JAMA.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 18, 2019

VUMC study finds helping patients breathe during intubation prevents life-threatening complications

Thousands of Americans die each year during a dangerous two-minute procedure to insert a breathing tube. Now a Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is showing that using bag-mask ventilation, squeezing air from a bag into the mouth for 60 seconds to help patients’ breathing, improves outcomes and could potentially save lives.
By Craig Boerner