Difficult Airway and Its Management

Airway Management in Emergency Medicine, Theodoros Aslanidis,Carlos Darcy Alves Bersot, Editör, IntechOpen, London, ss.45-66, 2023

In the emergency unit, there may not be enough time for proper airway evaluation

of a patient with respiratory distress. However, albeit fast, evaluation of head

and neck mobility, lower jaw position, condition of teeth, mouth opening, mouth

anatomy, and jaw-thyroid distance can contribute significantly to the correct management

of the process. Based on these results, a decision can be made on how to manage

the airway and how to proceed. If there is a finding of a difficult airway, a call for help

should not be delayed. Ready-to-use “emergency airway management kit” is important.

Determining whether the condition is a “difficult airway” is important because

the “anticipated difficult airway” and “unanticipated difficult airway” approaches are

different. There are numerous options for providing respiratory support to patients,

and conservative approaches should be prioritized. Definitely, in addition to respiratory

support with bag-masks, supraglottic airway devices, endotracheal tubes, and

tracheostomy approach may also be processed without delay, in case of need. The aim

of all procedures is to provide the patient with oxygen, which is indispensable for life.

It should not be forgotten to avoid oxygen neglection during selecting the method,

which requires least interventions and guarantees airway security. Consequently, in

semi-urgent states, a more detailed evaluation of the patient is more appropriate.