title: Difficult airway management.
abstract: Airway management is unequivocally the most important responsibility of the emergency physician. No matter how prepared for the task, no matter what technologies are utilized, there will be cases that are difficult. The most important part of success in the management of a difficult airway is preparation. When the patient is encountered, it is too late to check whether appropriate equipment is available, whether a rescue plan has been in place, and what alternative strategies are available for an immediate response. The following article will review the principles of airway management with an emphasis upon preparation, strategies for preventing or avoiding difficulties, and recommended technical details that hopefully will encourage the reader to be more prepared and technically skillful in practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. psoc1@msn.com
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sloane
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ban
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lanigra
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wolfe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000402:Airway Obstruction; D001314:Auscultation; D002648:Child; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma; D003413:Cricoid Cartilage / Q000601:surgery*; D004630:Emergencies; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005151:Facial Injuries; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods*; D007828:Laryngoscopy; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma; D019838:Neck Injuries; D012307:Risk Factors; D013908:Thoracotomy; D013957:Thyroid Cartilage / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating; D014951:Wounds, Stab