American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Management of the Difficult Airway *

• Replace the “Practice Guidelines for Management of the Difficult Airway: A Report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Management of the Difficult Airway,” adopted by the American Society of Anesthesiologists in 2012 and published in 2013. • Specifically address difficult airway management. The guidelines do not address education, training, or certification requirements for practitioners who provide anesthesia and airway management. • Differ from previous guidelines in that they were developed by an international task force of anesthesiologists representing several anesthesiology, airway, and other medical organizations. • Provide new evidence obtained from recent scientific literature along with findings from new surveys of expert consultants, American Society of Anesthesiologists members, and 10 participating organizations. • Provide consideration for the development of a difficult airway management strategy including considerations for awake airway management. • Update equipment for standard and advanced difficult airway management. • Recommend supplemental oxygen administration before initiating and throughout difficult airway management, including the extubation process. • Offer noninvasive and invasive alternatives for difficult airway management. • Emphasize awareness of the passage of time and limiting the number of attempts of different devices and techniques during difficult airway management. • Provide more robust recommendations for extubation of the difficult airway. • Provide new algorithms and infographics for adult and pediatric difficult airway management. ABSTRACT