Situation category
Trauma and anatomic airway
Anatomy, contamination, trauma, and anticipated difficulty.
Facial Trauma AirwayFacial trauma airways fail from blood, distorted anatomy, hypoxia, and delayed rescue transition.C-Spine Trauma AirwayProtect oxygenation and perfusion while minimizing unnecessary cervical motion.Angioedema AirwayThe airway can disappear while the team waits. The safest plan often preserves spontaneous ventilation and prepares front-of-neck access early.Burns / Inhalation Injury AirwayAirway edema can progress after initial presentation; early controlled intubation may be safer than late crash airway.Foreign Body AirwayA foreign body airway is a ventilation and retrieval problem, not just an intubation problem.Ludwig Angina / Deep Neck SwellingProgressive floor-of-mouth and neck swelling can convert from difficult to impossible quickly.Trismus / Limited Mouth Opening AirwayLimited mouth opening can make oral laryngoscopy fail before it starts.Jaw Wired Shut AirwayThe first intervention may be releasing fixation so oxygenation and suction are possible.Anticipated Difficult / Awake AirwayIf oxygenation is stable but anatomy is high risk, do not turn a controlled difficult airway into a crash airway.