Airway Management In The Emergency Department

Emergency airway management has evolved tremendously since the onset of the specialty’s origin. Over the years, the importance of first-pass success and approach to the difficult airway were the primary challenges faced by emergency physicians. With the advent of video laryngoscopy, the rates of first-pass success continue to increase, and the effect of the anatomically difficult airway has begun to lessen. With advances in tools for airway management, the challenges have shifted to approaching optimal preoxygenation and correction of physiologic disturbances prior to any intubation attempt. This review discusses traditional rapid sequence intubation and advances in the field of emergency airway management. This review contains 6 figures, 6 tables and 74 references Key words: difficult airway, emergency airway management, preoxygenation, surgical airway