emDocs - June 25, 2015 - Author: Civitarese F // Edited by: Koyfman A, Long B
"As emergency medicine physicians, we pride ourselves on being specialists in managing the emergent airway. We are expected to perform in the most adverse circumstances, artfully managing the dirty airway, the bloody airway, the mangled airway, the obstructed airway, the burned airway, the swollen airway, the airway in someone who can’t lie flat, the rapidly changing airway, the airway needed in 2 minutes or less. Our airways are grimy. They often aren’t the pretty, sterile, controlled intubations that so many of us trained on initially. By securing an airway, we ultimately can save a life.
How do we initially assess the airway? There are several mnemonics presented in emergency medicine texts to reference when initially assessing a patient who needs an airway. Often, in the emergency room, the patient needs to be assessed quickly, and the tools below will help you anticipate potential “badness”."
http://www.emdocs.net/the-sphincter-series-a-scary-airway-review/