February 2026; papers of the month

This podcast episode features Simon Lang and Rob Fenwick reviewing recent evidence-based medicine papers for February 2026. The central theme revolves around optimizing emergency care practices. The first paper challenges the conventional wisdom of requiring 360-degree access for prehospital rapid sequence intubation (RSI), suggesting intubation inside an ambulance doesn't increase major complications and may reduce scene time. Another paper explores defibrillator pad placement in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, with results indicating anterior-posterior placement is associated with higher rates of ROSC compared to anterolateral. Finally, the hosts discuss a study comparing ketamine and etomidate for emergency tracheal intubation, finding no significant difference in 28-day in-hospital mortality but noting more cardiovascular collapse with ketamine.