In the continuing aucklandhems.com theme of not reinventing the wheel, here is a superb video podcast of a lecture about airway management by Dr Richard Levitan – emergency physician and airway guru.

It focuses on laryngoscopy, including techniques for improving your view, bimanual laryngoscopy, positioning and head elevation, apnoeic oxygenation, avoiding common pitfalls, and understanding the dynamic elements of airway anatomy.

In our prehospital setting, good laryngoscopy technique (or, as Dr Levitan puts it, the sequence of epiglottoscopy —> laryngoscopy —> tube delivery) is the cornerstone technical skill of airway management – not a Glidescope in sight!

This podcast was sourced from Scott Weingart’s emcrit.org

The slide set for the talk is here

The video podcast is here

The landmark paper Preoxygenation and Prevention of Desaturation During Emergency Airway Management (by Drs Levitan and Weingart) is here