Background

Airway obstruction was the second most common cause of potentially survivable death in all US combat casualties from October 2001 to June 2011. Thus, airway management is often a critical early step in the resuscitation of the severely injured trauma patient. Identifying harbingers of a potentially difficult airway, having knowledge of a difficult airway algorithm, and understanding the proper utilization of alternative airway devices will allow for a pre-planned strategy for successful airway management.