Tracheal tube introducers or bougies and airway exchange catheters (AECs) are widely used airway adjuncts for facilitating airway management in difficult circumstances. They are easy to use, relatively inexpensive and have success rates of ≥ 90% in most settings. Both are included in many modern airway management algorithms. The use of bougies has expanded over the years, and they are now used to aid insertion of supraglottic airways (SGAs), videolaryngoscope-guided intubation and as adjuncts to emergency front of neck airway procedures. Stylets are rigid or semi-rigid airway adjuncts that are inserted into the tracheal tube before intubation. They maintain the tracheal tube in a particular shape and may therefore assist during intubation. AECs are semi-rigid hollow tubes designed to aid airway device (SGA, and single- or double-lumen tracheal tube) exchange or to manage ‘at-risk’ extubation. The risk of serious airway trauma associated with the use of bougies and airway exchange catheters, and the risk of barotrauma with the latter, invites cautious and educated use of these devices.

Many studies from around the world, especially NAP4 in the UK, have demonstrated that airway management in critically ill patients, whether in the intensive care unit, emergency department or general wards, is fraught with danger. Serious morbidity or mortality may be 50-fold more common than in anaesthetic practice. This chapter describes the essential features of airway management specific to critical care intubation. The importance of an intubation bundle approach is emphasised, such as the UK’s Difficult Airway Society guidelines for tracheal intubation in the critically ill adult. Components include: (i) deliberate and thoughtful application of human factors science to optimise team performance and sharing the airway plan; (ii) assessment of potential difficulty based on the MACOCHA scoring system; (iii) pre-oxygenation using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or non-invasive ventilation, high flow nasal oxygen, or a combination of these; (iv) a modified rapid sequence induction with continuous peroxygenation; (v) optimising laryngoscopy and intubation with early videolaryngoscopy by a trained operator; (vi) airway rescue with an amalgamated Plan B/C, borrowing from the Vortex approach; (vii) use of second generation supraglottic airways (SGAs); (viii) priming for front of neck airway (FONA) and (ix) a scalpel-bougie-tube cricothyroidotomy when managing cannot intubate, cannot oxygenate (CICO).

Despite the training and skills of airway managers, airway management complications still occur and may cause patient harm or death. The causes are multifactorial and may include patient, environment and clinician factors. Airway complications likely contribute to a significant proportion of deaths due to anaesthesia and are certainly more common outside the operating theatre and especially in the critical care unit. Reported incidences of failure and harm during airway management vary depending on the population studied and definitions used. Numbers may be of less value than understanding themes that help us improve care and reduce harm. The chapter emphasises that conventional research (e.g. device evaluation studies and randomised controlled trials) may be of little use in identifying low frequency events and complications because of their restricted inclusion and exclusion criteria, the use of devices only by experts and in conventional settings and because of their focus on efficacy rather than safety. The chapter highlights the important and growing role of registries and databases. Several are described in detail including the 4th National Audit Project and the Dutch ‘mini-NAP’. The value and limitations of litigation databases are explored. Specific complications of note are described at the end of the chapter.