Difficult Airway Management

Mansukh Popat is Consultant Anaesthetist, Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, John Radcliffe Hospital, and Honorary Senior Clinical lecturer, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

• 1. Difficult airway: definitions, incidence and consequences ; 2. Difficult airway management: general principles ; 3. Basic anatomical, physiological and pharmacological principles of difficult airway management ; 4. Pre-operative airway assessment ; 5. Management of the anticipated difficult airway: without clinical upper airway obstruction ; 6. Management of the anticipated difficult airway: the patient with critical upper airway obstruction ; 7. Awake fibreoptic intubation ; 8. Management of the unanticipated difficult airway: the 'can't intubate, can ventilate' scenario ; 9. Unanticipated difficult airway intubation: 'can't intubate, can't ventilate' (CICV) scenario ; 10. Difficult airway in special situations ; 11. Management of paediatric difficult airway ; 12. Extubation and re-intubation strategy ; 13. New airway devices for difficult airway management ; 14. Airway training