Need for emergency surgical airway reduced by a comprehensive difficult airway program.

Background: Inability to intubate and ventilate patients with respiratory failure is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. A patient is considered to have a difficult airway if an anesthesiologist or other health care provider experienced in airway management is unable to ventilate the patient's lungs using bag-mask ventilation and/or is unable to intubate the trachea using direct laryngoscopy.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of a departmental database to determine whether a comprehensive program to manage difficult airways was associated with a reduced need to secure the airway surgically via cricothyrotomy or tracheostomy.