Emergency airway management: the difficult airway.

Patients requiring airway management in the emergency department present an enormous challenge. It requires not only a firm concept of techniques for securing the airway but also of dealing with the potential difficult airway (DA) in which establishing a definite airway is not possible with techniques routinely used. This article highlights the importance of recognition and management of the DA in emergent situations. Both awake and nonawake intubation are discussed, and indications and guidelines are given for the use of nonsurgical and surgical airway interventions.