Airway timeout
Indication is __. Physiology risk is __. Plan A is __. If it fails, we oxygenate and change __. Plan C/CICO trigger is __. Sedation and ventilator plan are ready.
A case-based emergency airway education hub.
Airway of the Month
Read the patient. Rescue the airway. Run the room.
Monthly emergency airway cases, rescue tools, checklists, and skill drills for EM learners, faculty, simulation educators, and airway teams.
Step 1: Preparation
Make the room, the physiology, and the rescue plan ready before medications are pushed.
Step 2: Timeout
Convert implicit assumptions into a shared, spoken airway plan.
Step 3: Airway
Execute deliberately: oxygenate, clean the view, identify landmarks, pass under vision, and prove placement.
Step 4: Post-intubation
The airway is not done when the tube passes. Make the tube safe and the patient stable.
Basic calculator
Regular arithmetic keypad and expression entry.
Sizing
Tube, depth, PBW, and rescue airway size tools.
Meds
RSI and early post-intubation medication guides.
Pediatrics
Color zones, pediatric tube size, medications, and ventilation.
Vent Settings
Adult vent starts, minute ventilation, I:E, and physiology pivots.
Airway Finder / AI Helper
Find the right airway tool fast
Use this as a safe routing assistant. It searches the validated site pathways and builds an AI prompt you can copy into an approved AI workflow. It does not replace protocols or bedside judgment.
Post-intubation trouble
DOPES, hypoxia, hypotension, high pressure, no EtCO₂, and auto-PEEP.
On-shift rescue
60-second tube-in/patient-worse pathway with room script and priorities.
Meds / drips
RSI, sedation, analgesia, bolus/drip guides, and pump math.
Peds airway
Color-zone helper, ETT estimates, peds meds, and peds ventilator guide.
Ventilator starts
PBW, VT, minute ventilation, I:E, and scenario pivots.
Critical checklist
Preparation, timeout, airway, post-airway, timers, and focus mode.
Video theater
Click-to-play instructional clips and category filters.
AOTM
Current case, featured cases, Panopto folder, and debrief template.
Airway Situations
Pre/during/post-intubation optimization and pitfalls for ED airway phenotypes.
Cognitive offload
Scripts, roles, handoffs, and no-PHI debrief prompts.
EMS mode
Prehospital airway decisions, escalation, handoff, and resource-limited rescue.
Learn / Deep Dive
Modules, skill decks, videos, AOTM archive, and Foundations linkout.
AI-ready prompt builder
Copy a safety-bounded prompt
This keeps an AI helper focused on validated sources and education. Use an approved institutional AI workflow; do not paste patient identifiers.
Cognitive offload
Say the hard parts out loud
Scripts, role prompts, and copyable language to reduce memory burden during high-cognitive-load airway moments.
Live offload builder
Build a room script in real time
Fill in the blanks and the script below updates immediately. Nothing is stored or sent.
Failed attempt reset
Stop. Oxygenate. Name the problem. Change at least one thing: position, suction, blade/device, operator, tube trajectory, bougie/SGA, or cric pathway.
Tube in, patient worse
Patient worse after tube. Disconnect from vent and bag with 100% oxygen. Check tube depth and waveform EtCO₂. Run DOPES. Assign BP/pressor, circuit, and reintubation/rescue roles.
Post-intubation handoff
Tube depth __. Waveform EtCO₂ confirmed __. Vent mode/settings __. Sedation/analgesia __. Hemodynamics __. Next reassessment __. Team debrief pearl __.
No-PHI debrief rule
Capture technique, equipment, physiology, team communication, and learning pearl. Do not include name, MRN, DOB, exact time, room number, or identifiable media.
More than calculators
This section is built for cognitive unloading: the content is organized as scripts, pivots, role assignments, handoff language, and no-PHI debrief templates rather than only numeric calculators.
Debrief capture
Capture the pearl, not the patient
One-tap case debrief form for simulation, QA teaching, and AOTM pearl capture. Designed to export without PHI.
Cart-specific layout
Local Airway Cart
Make the site match your actual airway cart. Upload or take a cart photo, tap the image to add labeled markers, and export the map for orientation/simulation.
The image preview and pins are stored locally in this browser. No upload occurs unless you later copy/export it.
Upload/take a cart photo, then tap the image to add markers.
Fast inventory checklist
Offline pocket mode
Make the airway app work when Wi‑Fi fails
Pre-cache the on-shift pages, calculators, rescue mode, situations, and skill decks for more reliable access on shift.
Checking offline status…
- Install the site to your phone home screen when prompted.
- Open Offline Pocket Mode once while online and tap “Cache pocket pages now.”
- Videos still require network unless hosted in an offline-capable system; the cached pocket focuses on text, checklists, calculators, and decks.
EMS mode
Prehospital airway cognitive aid
Resource-limited prompts for oxygenation, NIV/CPAP, SGA, trauma, peds, and high-value handoff.
EMS airway first decisionOxygenate/ventilate now, or definitively intubate now?
- Prioritize oxygenation and ventilation before procedure success.
- Use BVM, adjuncts, CPAP/BiPAP, or SGA when they solve the immediate problem.
- Intubate when airway protection, ventilation, oxygenation, or predicted deterioration demands it and resources allow.
SCAPE / flash pulmonary edemaAvoid reflex intubation when NIV can rapidly stabilize.
- Use CPAP/BiPAP when appropriate; titrate nitrates/afterload reduction per EMS protocol.
- Prepare intubation for failure of NIV, exhaustion, altered mental status, or shock.
- After intubation: anticipate hypotension and oxygenation/PEEP needs.
Asthma/COPD in the fieldVentilation failure can worsen after the tube if breath stacking is ignored.
- Maximize bronchodilation, oxygen, BVM technique, and ventilatory support.
- If intubated: slow rate, long exhalation, avoid aggressive bagging, reassess auto-PEEP.
- Hypotension after intubation may be dynamic hyperinflation until proven otherwise.
Trauma / facial injuryBlood, anatomy, and transport constraints change the airway plan.
- Suction strategy and backup airway must be explicit before the first attempt.
- Maintain C-spine plan, oxygenation, and hemorrhage control.
- Use SGA/front-of-neck pathway per protocol if oxygenation fails.
EMS handoffWhat does the ED need in 20 seconds?
- Indication and starting physiology.
- Airway attempts, device, view, complications, meds, and tube depth.
- Current EtCO₂ waveform/value, SpO₂, BP, vent/BVM settings, and what changed.
Step 1: Preparation
Make the room, the physiology, and the rescue plan ready before medications are pushed.
Step 2: Timeout
Convert implicit assumptions into a shared, spoken airway plan.
Step 3: Airway
Execute deliberately: oxygenate, clean the view, identify landmarks, pass under vision, and prove placement.
Step 4: Post-intubation
The airway is not done when the tube passes. Make the tube safe and the patient stable.
On-shift rescue mode
On-Shift Rescue
First moves when an airway is unstable: oxygenate, call for help, confirm the tube, sort the failure mode, and change something.
Immediate unstable-patient move: call for help, disconnect from ventilator, bag with 100% oxygen, verify waveform EtCO₂ and tube depth, then troubleshoot DOPES while support is coming.
60-second rescue clock
Start when deterioration is recognized
00:00
Escalation threshold: stop, oxygenate manually, and declare the failure mode.
Room script
Say this out loud
“The tube is in and the patient is unstable. Disconnect the vent. Bag with 100% oxygen. Confirm waveform EtCO₂ and depth. We are running DOPES and hypotension causes now.”
Crisis map
Four moves before getting lost
Vent off. Bag with 100% O₂. PEEP valve if appropriate.
Waveform EtCO₂, depth, bilateral exam, cuff and circuit.
Hypoxia, hypotension, high pressure, no EtCO₂, dysynchrony.
Fix the identified failure mode; do not repeat the same plan.
Choose the failure mode
What is failing right now?
Hypoxia Low SpO₂ / poor oxygenation
- Manual BVM with 100% O₂.
- Check tube depth, cuff, EtCO₂, secretions, chest rise.
- Run DOPES and assess pneumothorax/auto-PEEP.
Hypotension MAP crashing after tube
- Rule out tension PTX and auto-PEEP.
- Review sedative/opioid effect and PEEP.
- Start/resume resuscitation and pressor pathway per protocol.
No EtCO₂ No reliable waveform
- Assume esophageal/displaced tube until proven otherwise.
- Directly reassess tube and waveform source.
- Reoxygenate and reintubate/rescue as indicated.
High pressure Alarm / hard to bag
- Bag and feel compliance.
- Suction, unkink, bronchodilate if bronchospasm.
- Check plateau/compliance, PTX, mainstem, auto-PEEP.
Stacking Asthma/COPD auto-PEEP
- Disconnect briefly if crashing and air-trapping suspected.
- Lower RR / increase expiratory time.
- Deep sedation/paralysis if dangerous dyssynchrony.
CICO Cannot intubate/oxygenate
- Declare CICO early.
- Use SGA/BVM rescue if possible.
- Move to front-of-neck access per team protocol.
On-shift cockpit
Medication + ventilator quick guides
Designed for simulation, debriefing, and rapid teaching. Local protocols and pharmacy concentrations should control real orders.
RSI + post-intubation sedation
Initial vent + scenario pivot
Interactive skill decks
Tap-to-flip airway cards
Large square cards for on-shift recall, simulation prebriefs, resident self-study, and quick faculty teaching. They use progressive disclosure: the front asks the cognitive question; the back shows the action frame.
30-second microdrill
Generate a quick airway challenge
Use before conference, during sim setup, or as an on-shift teaching prompt.
Tap “Generate drill” to create a resident/faculty teaching prompt.
Flip deck
At-the-door airway read
The rapid physiology and setup scan before medications.
Flip deck
Failed attempt / Plan B deck
Cards for when the first attempt is not going well.
Flip deck
Medication decision cards
Drug choice, paralysis, and post-intubation sedation reminders.
Flip deck
Ventilator physiology cards
Initial settings are only the start; match the physiology.
Flip deck
Trach / front-of-neck deck
High-stakes airway access and tracheostomy troubleshooting prompts.
Flip deck
Pediatric airway deck
Weight, sizing, physiology, and team communication.
Next innovation queue
Features worth building after this
Voice room mode
Hands-free commands: “show DOPES,” “start apnea timer,” “show Plan B,” and “copy debrief.”
QR sim stations
QR codes on airway carts/manikins that open the matching checklist, video, or flip deck.
Spaced repetition
Skill-deck cards that recur based on missed/marked-hard topics for residents.
Debrief capture
One-tap case debrief form that emails or exports pearls without PHI.
Cart-specific layout
Local airway cart map: where the bougie, SGA, cric kit, and suction live at your shop.
Offline pocket mode
PWA cache tuned for checklist, calculators, rescue page, and decks even without Wi‑Fi.
Curriculum mode
Learning Page
Seven structured modules for learners and faculty. Each module includes objectives, core points, practice prompts, related videos, and a progress checkbox saved locally.
0 / 7 modules complete
15–20 min
1. Preparation: build the room
Objective: Create a room where first-pass success and immediate rescue are both possible.
- Oxygenation pathway
- Suction x2
- BVM and rescue ventilation
- Positioning/ramp
- Primary and backup device
- Tube/stylet/bougie
- Rescue airway
Practice: Have a learner physically touch each item and verbalize its purpose before starting the scenario.
10–15 min
2. Timeout: shared mental model
Objective: Make the plan explicit before paralysis removes options.
- Indication
- Physiology risk
- Allergies/contraindications
- Drug plan
- Plan A/B/C
- CICO trigger
- Post-intubation sedation
Practice: Run a 30-second airway timeout aloud using the scripted template on the Step 2 page.
Related videos
15 min
3. Oxygenation and preoxygenation
Objective: Choose an oxygenation strategy that matches the patient’s physiology and preserves margin during the attempt.
- Apneic oxygenation
- NIV/BVM pathway
- PEEP and seal
- Denitrogenation time
- Positioning
- Plan B oxygenation
Practice: Compare NRB, nasal cannula, BVM with PEEP, and NIV setups in a skills station.
Related videos
20–30 min
4. Devices: blades, bougie, video, fiberoptic
Objective: Match device selection to anatomy, physiology, operator skill, and rescue plan.
- Mac vs Miller
- Video laryngoscopy
- Hyperangulated blade mechanics
- Bougie technique
- Fiberoptic pathway
- Device troubleshooting
Practice: Run the same airway model with direct laryngoscopy, standard geometry video, hyperangulated video, and bougie-first approaches.
20 min
5. Execution: clean, view, landmarks, pass, prove
Objective: Slow down tube passage enough to prevent common view-to-tube errors.
- Clean the view
- Identify landmarks
- Optimize before passage
- Hover and wait
- Manage tracheal ring hang-up
- Prove placement
Practice: Use a laryngoscopy video and pause before tube passage: ask learners to identify the landmarks and next move.
20–30 min
6. Rescue and special airways
Objective: Stop repeating the same failed attempt and make the next move meaningfully different.
- Change oxygenation
- Change position
- Change operator/device
- Use bougie/SGA/fiberoptic
- Cricothyrotomy trigger
- Trach emergency actions
Practice: Give the team a failed attempt. Require them to name exactly what changes before attempt two.
15 min
7. Post-airway: make the tube safe
Objective: Prevent preventable harm after tube placement.
- Sedation/analgesia
- Ventilator setup
- Hemodynamic reassessment
- Tube depth
- CXR/EtCO₂ documentation
- Debrief
Practice: Run a “tube is in” drill: learners must complete post-airway tasks before leaving the room.
Related videos
Suggested skills-lab flow
- Five-minute pre-brief: four-step workflow and CICO trigger.
- Ten-minute equipment station: oxygen, suction, BVM, tube/stylet/bougie, devices.
- Fifteen-minute laryngoscopy station: clean, view, landmarks, cords, hover, wait, pass.
- Ten-minute rescue station: change something, SGA, fiberoptic, cric kit, trach emergency.
- Five-minute debrief: what changed between attempts and what should become a habit.
Basics / Room Setup
Checklist, preoxygenation, positioning, BVM, suction, and setup fundamentals.
Devices / Laryngoscopy
Bougie, Mac, Miller, CMAC, hyperangulated, and Glidescope setup.
Advanced / Rescue Skills
Fiberoptic, awake fiberoptic, retrograde, cricothyrotomy, Magill forceps, and trach emergencies.
Airway Examples / Difficult Intubations
Difficult-intubation examples, screen interpretation, tube delivery problems, Magill examples, and anatomy pearls.
Education-only calculator guides
Clinical Calculators
Grouped by sizing, medications, pediatrics, and ventilator setup. These are training aids; replace defaults with your ED, anesthesia, ICU, and pediatric protocols before clinical teaching use.
Protocol lockout: These calculators intentionally show formulas and ranges. They should not be used as a stand-alone bedside dosing tool until reviewed, approved, and localized by your clinical leadership.
Group 1
Sizing
Tube, depth, blade, predicted body weight, and equipment preparation.
Adult ETT / equipment sizing quick prep
Prepares primary tube plus one smaller and one larger; always confirm with waveform EtCO₂, depth, bilateral exam, and imaging when appropriate.
Predicted Body Weight
Uses the common ARDSNet/NIH PBW equation for lung-protective tidal-volume calculations.
Pediatric ETT size + depth
For children ≥1 year, estimates uncuffed ETT as age/4 + 4 and cuffed ETT as 0.5 mm smaller. Stage ±0.5 mm tubes.
Supraglottic rescue size guide
Device-specific sizing varies. Use this only as a staging prompt and check the manufacturer’s chart for the device in your airway cart.
Group 2
Meds
Adult RSI, shock-sensitive induction, paralytic, and post-intubation sedation guides.
Adult RSI medication guide
Shock-risk safety note: for ED intubation patients at increased risk of post-intubation hypotension, this guide emphasizes etomidate or ketamine as the induction-agent scaffold. Avoid treating fentanyl, midazolam, or propofol as equivalent induction/coinduction defaults in shock-risk patients; verify local protocol and clinical context.
Includes induction and paralytic ranges. It is not an order set.
Post-intubation sedation guide
Hard stop: analgesia/sedation should be ready before paralytic administration whenever feasible.
Post-intubation crash risk
Risk prompts selected: 0
Attempt troubleshooting prompt
After a failed attempt, choose the change before trying again:
OxygenatePositionSuctionBladeDeviceOperatorBougieSGACric
Medication handoff builder
Creates the exact verbal sequence you want the room to hear before paralysis.
Use with the adult/peds calculators; do not let post-intubation sedation become an afterthought.
Group 3
Peds
Pediatric airway staging and intubation medication training ranges.
Pediatric intubation meds
Use measured or length-based weight when available. Round thoughtfully and follow pediatric emergency medication standards.
Pediatric atropine helper
Traditional teaching includes 0.02 mg/kg with minimum and maximum dose constraints; local PALS/PED pharmacy policy should control display values.
Pediatric initial vent guide
Tidal volume is a starting guide; titrate to lung mechanics, gas exchange, disease physiology, and pediatric ICU/RT guidance.
Peds airway prebrief
Copy a pediatric airway-specific briefing line for simulation or teaching.
Peds color-zone airway guide
Approximate Broselow-style airway zone helper for education. Use your actual Broselow/length-based tape and local pediatric standards as the bedside source of truth.
Group 4
Ventilator
Initial adult ventilation, ARDS-style VT targets, minute ventilation, and obstructive-physiology prompts.
Adult initial ventilator settings
Default guide: PBW-based VT 4–8 mL/kg, common starting RR range, PEEP/FiO₂ prompt, and plateau-pressure reminder.
Minute ventilation estimator
Useful in severe acidosis when pre-intubation minute ventilation is high and post-intubation under-ventilation can be dangerous.
Obstructive physiology I:E prompt
For asthma/COPD: prioritize long expiratory time, avoid breath stacking, and reassess flow-time waveform.
Oxygenation escalation prompt
Use as a structured reminder, not an automated protocol.
- Confirm tube, waveform EtCO₂, depth, and circuit.
- Increase FiO₂ first for immediate rescue, then titrate PEEP deliberately.
- Check plateau pressure / driving pressure when available.
- Escalate early: RT, ICU, proning/paralysis/ARDS pathway as appropriate.
Driving pressure + static compliance
Requires an inspiratory hold/plateau measurement. Use with RT/ICU workflow.
Vent scenario builder
Use this after the initial settings to force a physiology-specific second pass.
Calculator reference anchors to localize
Use these as starting references while converting the calculator guides into your local protocol display.
On-shift rescue mode
Post-Intubation Troubleshooting
Use this when the tube is in but the patient is not stable: hypoxia, hypotension, high pressures, no waveform EtCO₂, or ventilator alarms.
First move if unstable: call for help, disconnect from the ventilator, manually ventilate with 100% oxygen, check waveform EtCO₂, and troubleshoot DOPES while RT/ICU support is coming.
Immediate algorithm
Tube in, patient worse
Disconnect vent. Bag with 100% O₂. Add PEEP valve if appropriate.
Waveform EtCO₂, depth, bilateral chest rise/sounds, cuff/circuit.
Hypoxia, hypotension, high pressure, no EtCO₂, poor compliance, dysynchrony.
Fix position, suction/obstruction, vent/circuit, pneumothorax, or auto-PEEP.
DOPES + no waveform EtCO₂
Tap a concern to expand actions
D: DisplacementTube moved, mainstemmed, or never tracheal.
- Check continuous waveform EtCO₂.
- Check depth at teeth/lips and compare to documented depth.
- Listen for bilateral breath sounds and look for symmetric chest rise.
- If no waveform or wrong depth: remove/reposition using your local emergency airway pathway.
O: ObstructionTube, circuit, secretions, biting, kink, bronchospasm.
- Pass a suction catheter through the ETT.
- Look for biting/kinked tube or blocked HME/filter.
- Assess peak vs plateau pressure with RT.
- Treat bronchospasm and consider tube exchange if catheter will not pass.
P: Pneumothorax / PatientTension physiology, mainstem, collapse, edema, PE, bronchospasm.
- If hypoxia + hypotension + high pressures: tension pneumothorax must be considered immediately.
- Use bedside exam/ultrasound/chest radiograph when stable enough.
- Treat immediately when exam and instability support tension physiology.
- Do not wait for imaging in a crashing patient with confirmatory clinical findings.
E: EquipmentVentilator, circuit, gas source, valve, filter, disconnect.
- Disconnect from ventilator and bag with 100% oxygen plus PEEP valve when appropriate.
- If bagging is easy and oxygenation improves, suspect ventilator/circuit problem.
- Check oxygen source, circuit connections, valve function, filters, and ventilator settings.
- Call RT early.
S: Stacked breathsAuto-PEEP, dynamic hyperinflation, obstructive shock.
- Disconnect briefly to allow full exhalation if severe air-trapping physiology is suspected.
- Lower RR and minute ventilation demand when safe.
- Increase expiratory time; evaluate flow-time waveform.
- Use deep sedation/paralysis when dyssynchrony is driving air trapping.
No EtCO₂ waveformEsophageal tube until proven otherwise, low-flow state, equipment issue.
- Reconfirm tube immediately.
- Check detector/capnography connection and circuit.
- If cardiac arrest/very low perfusion, waveform may be low but should not be ignored.
- Use direct visualization/reintubation pathway when placement is uncertain.
Hypotension after intubation
- Tube/circuit: confirm placement and oxygenation first.
- Obstructive causes: tension pneumothorax, auto-PEEP, high PEEP, RV failure/PE.
- Medication/vasodilation: sedative/opioid effect, induction-related sympathetic lysis.
- Preload/bleeding/sepsis: reassess volume, vasopressors, source control, and MAP target.
- Vent pivot: reduce intrathoracic pressure when air-trapping or excessive PEEP is plausible.
High airway pressure alarm
- Bag the patient: feel compliance and bypass equipment.
- High peak, normal plateau: resistance problem—tube kink, secretions, bronchospasm, small tube.
- High peak and high plateau: compliance/pressure problem—ARDS, edema, pneumothorax, mainstem, auto-PEEP.
- Check waveform: flow returning to zero? If not, suspect breath stacking.
Scenario pivots
After the initial vent settings, match the physiology
Severe asthma/COPD
Low RR, long expiratory time, avoid stacking, permissive hypercapnia when clinically acceptable, deep sedation if dyssynchrony.
ARDS/hypoxemia
PBW-based low VT, plateau/driving pressure awareness, deliberate PEEP/FiO₂ escalation, early ICU/RT pathway.
Metabolic acidosis/DKA
Plan before paralysis. Preserve minute ventilation as safely as possible. Avoid sudden apnea and post-intubation hypoventilation.
TBI/neuro
Avoid hypoxia and hypotension. Use EtCO₂ targets and sedation strategy consistent with neurocritical goals.
Shock/RV failure
Preload/pressor plan, avoid excess intrathoracic pressure, consider RV afterload and peri-intubation collapse risk.
Pediatrics
Use measured/length-based weight, staged backup sizes, age-appropriate vent RR, and early pediatric/RT support.
Watch next
Related troubleshooting videos
Airway of the Month Series
Open the full monthly AOTM Panopto folder.
Current Airway of the Month
Featured current case and direct watch links.
Recommended AOTM
Curated March, June, December, April, and August cases.
Panopto Search
Search the AOTM folder or use pre-built terms.
Airway Video Database
Introduction, video-only archive, and hashtag guide.
Other Video Folders
Hypothetical cases and training examples.
AOTM Disclaimer: This database is for your information and education only. It is intended solely for use by medical providers seeking to further understanding of airway management. All patient identifying information has been removed from the videos; however, if you believe patient information was inadvertently included or other concerns arise during your review, please email Dr. Andrew Pirotte ([email protected]) directly.
References and downloads
Resources
Clean resource hub for videos, printable references, editorial policy, clinical accuracy guardrails, FOAM sharing links, and indexable airway topic pages.
FOAM / SEO exposure
FOAM / SEO Exposure Kit Indexable Airway Education Topic Index XML sitemap llms.txtPanopto / video folders
Airway Video Database introduction Video-only airway database Airway of the Month Series Hypothetical Cases AVD hashtags guideInternal link map
Airway of the Month Quick Hits / On Shift Airway Finder / AI Helper Airway Situations Cognitive Offload Debrief Capture Airway Cart Map Offline Pocket Mode EMS Airway Mode Learn / Deep Dive Critical Checklist On-Shift Airway Rescue Clinical Calculators Airway of the Month Resources Post-Intubation Troubleshooting Learning Videos Airway Skill Decks Learning Page Step 1: Prep Step 2: Timeout Step 3: Airway Step 4: Post-Airway Foundations landing page Partner embed card endpointHigh-yield topic pages
Severe Asthma / COPD Crash Airway Flash Pulmonary Edema / SCAPE Airway DKA / Severe Metabolic Acidosis Airway Septic Shock Intubation RV Failure / Pulmonary Embolism Airway Angioedema Airway Facial Trauma Airway Pediatric DKA / Acidosis Airway Tracheostomy Emergency No EtCO₂ Waveform After Intubation Hypoxia After Intubation Hypotension After Intubation High Airway Pressure After Intubation DOPES Algorithm for Post-Intubation Deterioration Airway of the Month: March 2024 Airway of the Month: June 2024 Airway of the Month: December 2024 Airway of the Month: April 2025 Airway of the Month: August 2025 Salicylate Toxicity Airway Status Epilepticus Airway Massive Hemoptysis Airway Overdose / Aspiration Airway Anaphylaxis Airway C-Spine Trauma Airway Burns / Inhalation Injury Airway Foreign Body Airway Ludwig Angina / Deep Neck Swelling Trismus / Limited Mouth Opening Airway Jaw Wired Shut Airway Anticipated Difficult / Awake Airway Pediatric Asthma Airway Pediatric Foreign Body Aspiration Pediatric Septic Shock Airway Pediatric Anaphylaxis Airway Infant Bronchiolitis Airway Neonate / Infant Apnea Airway Pediatric Trauma / Shock Airway Trach Bleeding Airway Laryngectomy Airway Tube Exchange / Cuff Leak Accidental Extubation Airway Postoperative Neck Hematoma Airway Cricothyrotomy / Front-of-Neck Access Ventilator Dyssynchrony / Biting Tube Post-Intubation Hypotension EMS Trauma Airway Prehospital SCAPE / Pulmonary Edema Airway Cardiac Arrest Airway Priorities Drowning / Submersion Airway CO / Cyanide / Smoke Inhalation AirwayPrintable quick references
- Critical airway checklist: use the Print button on the checklist page.
- Step 1–4 pages: print each page as a one-page prebrief.
- Medication and ventilator guides: print from the calculator page after local protocol edits.
- AOTM case template: copy from the AOTM page and paste into your monthly case workflow.
Failed-attempt troubleshooting
- Stop and oxygenate.
- Declare the failure mode: oxygenation, view, tube delivery, confirmation, or physiology.
- Change at least one meaningful variable.
- Escalate early to rescue oxygenation or front-of-neck access when indicated.
Clinical accuracy guardrails
This site is a cognitive-aid and education guide, not a bedside order set. Medication ranges, ventilator starts, pediatric color zones, and scenario cards should be reviewed against local ED, ICU, EMS, anesthesia, pharmacy, and pediatric protocols before clinical teaching use.
ACEP adult ED intubation clinical policy ACEP rapid-sequence intubation policy statement ACEP mechanical ventilation policy statement PREOXI trial manuscript: NIV preoxygenationEditorial policy and review process
Review the authorship, intended audience, clinical-use limits, update cadence, and reference approach for this educational airway resource.
About, Editorial Policy, Review Process & Clinical Disclaimer Flagship Emergency Airway Checklist page