[Ethical dilemmas when teaching intubation techniques--what does the population think?].

Maintaining a clear airway and sufficient ventilation is vital in emergency medicine, but junior doctors and medical students rarely get sufficient training in the relevant techniques. These can be taught on mannequins, anaesthetised patients, or on recently deceased patients. The Norwegian and British medical associations recently banned the use of dead patients for intubation training for ethical reasons. A telephone survey of a random sample of 1,050 persons revealed that 69% would allow themselves to be practised on if they were anaesthetised, while 58% would accept that a close relative who had just died in hospital be used. Most of those who would not give their consent or who were unsure feared being injured, or the idea upset them. These results challenge previous assumptions about the attitude of the general public, and the medical associations' stand on the issue may have to be reconsidered for the sake of improving the teaching of vital skills.