Airway trauma

Trauma to the airway should be considered according to its anatom-ical location and the mechanism of injury, which can broadly be clas-sified as blunt, penetrating and thermal/chemical. Patient management may be clinically challenging, and is often complicated by polytrauma. A comprehensive airway management strategy is key to safe patient care. Patients' airway control may deteriorate rapidly, such that contin-gency planning must be in place. A structured approach to patient assessment is essential to avoid delayed diagnosis, which may worsen patient outcome.