OBJECTIVE Prior studies describe airway management by single EMS agencies, regions or states. We sought to characterize out-of-hospital airway management interventions, outcomes and complications across the United States. METHODS Using the 2008 National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) Public-Release Data Set containing data from 16 states, we identified patients receivi...

Airway management in the intensive care unit (ICU) is a challenging procedure and is frequently associated with life threatening complications. The incidence of difficult intubations ranges from 10% to 22%, depending on the setting and the patients in need of endotracheal intubation. Multiple attempts are often needed to secure the airway. Despite the high risk for patients in the ICU setting, ...

The 4th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Difficult Airway Society; major complications of airway management in the UK (NAP4) reported that the intensive care unit (ICU), rather than being a place of safety for airway management, could instead be considered a place of danger (Cook et al. 2011a). Airway-related complications were more likely to occur on ICU than in...

We believe that the way in which we conceptualise ‘airway education’ needs to change. The last two decades of anaesthetic practice have seen a proliferation of airway devices and techniques, yet training and maintaining skills in airway management have not necessarily kept pace. The traditional model for learning continues to be based on apprenticeship, and this is subject to immense variabilit...