Preoperative airway assessment and strategies

- Airway management problems are still one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in anesthesiology.
- Difficult airway management in the Intensive Care Unit is associated with severe adverse outcomes.
- Failure to perform a preoperative airway assessment is the single most important factor leading to a failed airway.
- The combination of multiple assessment tools is a better predictor of a difficult airway than using a single tool.