David B. Glick, MD, MBA
Richard M. Cooper, B.Sc, M.Sc, MD, FRCPC
Andranik Ovassapian, MD
Editors
2013
Few challenges can sour faster or lead to more devastating outcomes than failed attempts to control a difficult airway. Things can go from calm to catastrophic in little more than the time that you are able to hold your breath, and death or profound neurologic injury are the possible results. The concerns regarding the management of difficult airways are shouldered by many in the healthcare field as anesthesiologists, intensive care physicians, emergency room physicians, as well as nurses in many different venues, and out-of-hospital first responders may all be tasked with providing airway support and/or definitive airway control to a wide range of patients. Unfortunately, the majority of patients with airways that are difficult to manage are either unsuspected difficult airways or require urgent airway management.