Difficult airway equipment in departments English emergency departments

The need for tracheal intubation in the emergency department is often unpre dictable and precipitous in nature. When compared with the operating room, a higher incidence of difficult intubation is observed. There are currently no accepted guidelines with respect to the stocking of difficult airway eq uipment in the emergency department. We have conducted a telephone survey t o determine the availability of equipment for the management of the difficu lt airway in English emergency departments. Overall, the majority of units held a curved laryngoscope blade (100%), gum elastic bougie (99%) and surgi cal airway device (98%). Of alternative devices for ventilation, a laryngea l mask airway was kept by 65% of departments, a needle cricothyroidostomy k it by 63% and an oesophageal-tracheal twin-lumen airway (Combitube) by 18%. Of alternative devices for intubation, fewer than 10% held a retrograde in tubating kit, intubating laryngeal mask, bronchoscope or lighted stylet. Se venty-four per cent of departments held an end-tidal carbon dioxide detecto r.