AANA journal course: update for nurse anesthetists. The SLAM Emergency Airway Flowchart: a new guide for advanced airway practitioners

Advanced airway practitioners in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, and prehospital care can suddenly and unexpectedly face difficult airway situations that can surface without warning during mask ventilation or tracheal intubation. Although tracheal intubation remains the "gold standard" in airway management, it is not always achievable, and, when it proves impossible, appropriate alternative interventions must be used rapidly to avoid serious morbidity or mortality. The SLAM Emergency Airway Flowchart (SEAF) is intended to prevent the 3 reported primary causes of adverse respiratory events (ie, inadequate ventilation, undetected esophageal intubation, and difficult intubation). The 5 pathways of the SEAF include primary ventilation, rapid-sequence intubation, difficult intubation, rescue ventilation, and cricothyrotomy. It is intended for use with adult patients by advanced airway practitioners competent in direct laryngoscopy, tracheal intubation, administration of airway drugs, rescue ventilation, and cricothyrotomy. The SEAF has limitations (eg, suitable only for use with adult patients, cannot be used by certain categories of rescue personnel, and depends heavily on assessment of Spo2). A unique benefit is provision of simple alternative techniques that can be used when another technique fails.