Update: DAS 2025 Makes the Vertical Incision the Standard for FONA. The DAS 2025 Tracheal Intubation Guidelines have finally changed. They now recommend a new approach to the initial incision for emergency front-of-neck access (eFONA). In my opinion, they've moved in the right direction. If you’ve trained using the 2015 algorithm, you’ll remember the fork in the road. It was a stab incision if you can feel the membrane.

A Cogntive Upgrade a Decade in the Making The 2025 Difficult Airway Society (DAS) guidelines for the management of unanticipated difficult tracheal intubation in adults have been a decade in the making, and they were worth the wait. This new iteration corrects many of the limitations of the 2015 version, shifting the focus from recovery after failure to optimization for success…

Let's get it right. We're not looking for the Vallecula, we're actively using it. Let's discuss.

We’re thrilled to unveil the newest evolution of our PAC Learning Space for hyperangulated video laryngoscopy (HAVL). PAC isn’t just about courses; it’s about creating immersive, interactive training environments you can set up anywhere to make airway training more accessible. This updated version is packed with fresh features, including new training videos, in-depth learning modules, and simple, step-by-step guides for building your own HAVL pop-up space.

Train your mind, sharpen your skills, and be ready when it matters most. In sports, elite athletes have long known the value of mental rehearsal. Whether it’s a tennis player visualizing their serve or a skier running the course in their head, guided imagery is a proven way to build muscle memory and improve performance when it really counts. Musicians, pilots, and even military professionals use the same techniques; practicing not only with their hands but also with their minds.

We’re Excited to Announce a New Way to Connect, Learn, and Grow Together Starting next month, the Protected Airway Collaborative will be hosting live sessions designed exclusively for our community. These sessions will be held online, with select events also offering an in-person component at our new Airway Works NYC training studio—giving PAC members the chance to drop in for immersive, hands-on practice.

For Peri-Intubation Resuscitation When every second matters, waiting for a central line isn’t an option. Intraosseous (IO) access is the faster, safer bridge that gets life-saving medications and fluids where they need to go—right now. The data are clear: IO can be established in under 30 seconds, carries a success rate of 80–97% in critically ill patients, and bypasses the pitfalls of shock physiology that make IV lines nearly impossible.

YouTube video by The Protected Airway Collaborative

YouTube video by The Protected Airway Collaborative

YouTube video by The Protected Airway Collaborative

What Real-World Video Review Teaches Us Cricothyrotomy remains the ultimate “can’t intubate, can’t oxygenate” (CICO) procedure. It’s high stakes, rarely performed, and one of the most anxiety-inducing skills in emergency airway management. Despite its importance, most of what we know about cricothyrotomy comes from manikin studies, animal models, or retrospective chart reviews. Until now. A new study by Merkle and colleagues, published in the…

With a DIY Trainer Demo + Q&A Date & Time: Monday, October 6, 2025, at 3:00 PM ET Where: Live on our YouTube channel (subscribe and tap the bell to get the alert) Hosts: Oscar Mitchel, MD, & Jonathan St George, MD Register Why this matters Massive hemoptysis is the definition of a High Acuity, Low Occurrence (HALO) event. When it happens, seconds count, and the team needs a clear plan, precise roles, and tools that work in messy reality.

We're bringing our innovative airway training program to EUSEM 2025. On Saturday, 27 September 2025 (08:30 – 18:00), join us in Vienna!

The Protected Airway Collaborative is Coming to Clinical Updates 2025 We’re thrilled to announce that the Protected Airway Collaborative will be part of the program at the 16th Annual Clinical Updates in Emergency Medicine Conference this September. This training will be led by faculty ​​from the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine.​ In-person and remote options available. Weill Cornell Medical College is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Critical Language Compendium is the place to learn the language of airway management. Learn the language and then dive deeper into the related content.

Announcement The Protected Airway Collaborative's state-of-the-art education space for personalized private & group training opens September 1st. Where Airway Mastery Begins. We're on a mission to change how we learn in medical education. Airway Works // NYC is a unique learning hub in the heart of New York City, designed to sharpen your skills and immerse you in the best of airway education.

In Real-World eFONA, Touch, Not Tech, Makes the Difference. Emergency cricothyroidotomy is among the most time-sensitive and consequential procedures in airway management. Recently, the use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to identify the cricothyroid membrane (CTM) prior to initiating the procedure has garnered increasing attention. While ultrasound may offer benefits in specific scenarios (particularly in patients with challenging anatomy or during planned high-risk airway interventions), its routine use in emergency front-of-neck access (eFONA) warrants more thoughtful evaluation.

Overview Airway management in oncology patients presents a distinct and often underestimated set of challenges. While anatomy and physiology always matter, the added complexity of tumor location, prior treatments, and evolving disease burden can turn a routine airway into a high-stakes clinical scenario. If you manage airways (whether in the OR, ICU, ED, or prehospital environment), it’s only a matter of time before you encounter a cancer-related difficult airway.

Combined Videolaryngoscopy and Flexible Bronchoscopy for Difficult Pediatric Intubation: A Review of Lin et al., Anaesthesia 2025 Background Video-assisted fiberoptic intubation (VAFI) has emerged as an exciting frontier with the arrival of integrated airway management systems, such as the Glidescope CORE, which enable seamless transitions between video and fiberoptic tools on dual-screen monitors. Clinicians are only beginning to tap into the full potential of what these sophisticated devices can offer.

Reviews to Elevate Your Airway Practice A review article on the 2022 PREPARE II trial published in JAMA: We first featured this study in our Physiologically Difficult Airway curriculum in 2022; however, the ritual persists in many clinical settings. The pre-intubation fluid bolus remains a common practice, administered in the hope of preventing hypotension and averting cardiovascular collapse. But is this habit grounded in evidence or just tradition?