Since the publication of the first edition, a plethora of airway
devices have been introduced. Many of these devices have the potential of
improving our ability to manage the patient's airway and improving the view
of the larynx. They may even increase the success rate of tracheal
intubation. While the clinical utility of these devices and techniques in
managing patients with a difficult and failed airway remains to be
determined, we firmly believe that the airway technique of choice depends
not only on the patient's anatomy but on the situational context. This
second edition emphasizes that airway management is "context-sensitive" and
that selection of an airway technique must be determined by the clinical
situation and environment. For instance, compared to an operating room
setting, the airway management strategy would be quite different for a
patient with a difficult airway in the prehospital setting, in the emergency
department, or in the cardiac catheterization unit, where skill sets and
limited resources play decisive roles. Furthermore, the airway approach
might also be different if an urgent airway intervention is needed for a
pregnant patient or for a small child who is uncooperative. Using the
guiding principles of context-sensitivity, this second edition is designed
to assist practitioners with the appropriate selection of airway devices and
techniques for a wide range of clinical environments.
As in the first edition, this book is divided into four
sections: the first section presents the foundational information in airway
management; the second section reviews airway devices and techniques; the
third section discusses airway management in different clinical situations,
including prehospital care, in the emergency department, intensive care
units, the operating room, the post-anesthetic care unit, as well as other
parts of the hospital; and the last section highlights practical issues in
airway management. To broaden the scope of discussion, a number of new
chapters and clinical cases have been added to this new edition. For
example, chapters discussing the basic principles of bag-mask-ventilation,
single lung ventilation using double lumen tubes, airway management in
austere environments, as well as airway education and simulation have been
included.
It is our hope that the second edition,
like the first edition, is embraced by clinicians as contributing a solid
foundation of knowledge to the field of difficult and failed airway
management.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all the contributing authors for making this book
possible. In particular, we would like to thank all the associate editors
for their tireless efforts to ensure that the information in this book is
clear and accurate. We wish to thank Sara Whynot for her editorial
assistance and Christopher Hung and David Hung for the production of all the
images and videos. We thank the continuing support of all the editorial
staff at McGraw-Hill.
Orlando Hung, MD, FRCPC
Michael F. Murphy, MD, FRCPC