Airway Management
Airway Management - Related Videos
01:22
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation II: ACLS Airway Management
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2025
Airway management is a key skill in emergency and critical care settings, as maintaining a clear airway is essential for adequate oxygenation and ventilation.Head Tilt-Chin Lift TechniqueThe head tilt-chin lift maneuver is an essential technique primarily used in patients without suspected cervical spine injuries. To perform this maneuver, one hand is placed on the patient’s forehead, and gentle pressure is applied backward to tilt the head. The fingertips of the other hand are positioned under...
01:30
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation V: Advanced Airway Management Techniques
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2025
Airway management is essential in emergency and surgical medicine, ensuring ventilation and oxygenation in patients who cannot maintain their own airway. Clinicians use a range of techniques and devices to secure the airway, depending on the patient’s condition and the clinical context. Key methods include endotracheal intubation, rapid sequence intubation (RSI), supraglottic airway devices, and advanced visualization aids. In cases where these approaches fail, surgical airway interventions are...
07:31
Image Acquisition using Portable Sonography for Emergency Airway Management
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Cited by 1 •
2022
Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is increasingly being utilized in airway management. Presented here are some clinical utilities of POCUS, including differentiating endotracheal and esophageal intubation, identification of the cricothyroid membrane in the event a surgical airway is required, and measuring anterior neck soft tissue to predict difficult airway management. ...
09:28
COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak: Protecting The Airway - Endotracheal Intubation
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2020
In pandemic times, medical staff is becoming a key resource in fighting the infection. To achieve the best medical care, relevant techniques and procedures have to be taught to medical staff to reduce the risk of infection. COVID patients often need mechanical ventilation due to progredient respiratory insufficiency, so an endotracheal intubation becomes a critical procedure in managing these patients. This procedure has an increased risk of infection due to aerosol formation and working with...
04:30
Endotracheal Intubation Using a Flexible Intubation Endoscope as a Standardized Model for Safe Airway Management in Swine
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Cited by 1 •
2022
The use of pigs in research has increased in recent years. Nevertheless, pigs are characterized by difficult airway anatomy. By demonstrating how to perform endoscopically guided endotracheal intubation, the present protocol aims to further increase laboratory animals' safety to avoid animal suffering and unnecessary death.
FAQs
Airway assessment must establish whether air can pass and whether the patient is ventilating effectively. A patent passage alone does not ensure adequate oxygen delivery, while poor breathing may require immediate support even without obvious obstruction. This paired assessment helps clinicians choose among positioning, suction, airway adjuncts, bag-mask ventilation, or intubation according to the patient’s immediate needs.
These interventions address problems that can prevent air from reaching the lungs. Positioning can help maintain the passage, suction removes material that interferes with patency, and airway adjuncts help keep the airway open. Their use reflects a progressive approach in which clinicians begin with supportive measures and escalate when those measures do not adequately restore or protect ventilation.
Bag-mask ventilation provides oxygen and ventilation without placing a tube through the airway, making it an important immediate support technique. Endotracheal intubation is used when clinicians need to bypass an obstruction or provide more definitive airway protection. The choice depends on the patient’s airway and breathing status, the urgency of the situation, and whether simpler support is sufficient.
Video laryngoscopy and supraglottic devices provide additional options when conventional airway techniques are unsuccessful or difficult. Video laryngoscopy supports visualization during intubation, while a supraglottic device supports ventilation without relying on the same approach as conventional intubation. These tools broaden the available strategies and can help clinicians continue oxygenation and ventilation during challenging airway management.
Clinicians first assess airway patency and breathing, then select an intervention that matches the problem. They may begin with positioning, suction, or an airway adjunct, proceed to bag-mask ventilation when oxygen and ventilation require support, and use endotracheal intubation when bypassing obstruction or protecting the airway becomes necessary. Advanced devices remain options when conventional methods fail.
Airway management is central to emergencies, anesthesia, and critical illness, where impaired passage or breathing can rapidly affect patient stability. It also supports resuscitation, surgery, trauma care, and intensive care medicine. The specific approach varies with the clinical setting, but the goal remains to maintain or restore access for oxygen and ventilation while addressing the underlying airway threat.
Effective management helps prevent hypoxia, meaning inadequate oxygen availability, and reduces complications associated with an unprotected or obstructed airway. It also establishes a foundation for resuscitation and ongoing care by enabling oxygen delivery and ventilation. In medicine, this makes airway decisions relevant not only during emergencies but also throughout anesthesia, trauma treatment, surgery, and intensive care.