This program is sponsored by Teleflex Medical Incorporated Visit Clinical Foundations online at www.clinicalfoundations.org www.clinicalfoundations.org Management of the Difficult Airway Irene Osborn, MD Adequate airway management is crucial to the success of anesthesia, and special effort is often required for patients with difficult airways. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Tas...

A rescue airway device is used when conventional methods of intubation fail to achieve control of the airway. Although the laryngeal mask airway is often used in the operating room should endotracheal intubation fail, the esophageal-tracheal double-lumen airway represents another alternative rescue airway device. Nurse anesthetists may encounter patients with an in situ esophageal-tracheal doub...