Advanced Airway Management and Use of Anesthetic Drugs

I. IMPORTANCE OF AIRWAY MANAGEMENT: AN OVERVIEW Complete compromise of the airway leads rapidly to hypoxia, irreversible brain damage, and death. As a result, management of the compromised airway has the highest treatment priority regardless of the presence of other injuries or medical problems. This is universally accepted practice, and the worldwide expansion of Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) with its ‘‘ABC’’ approach to trauma care constantly reinforces this message [1].