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Known difficult airway: stop repeated attempts

Educational use only. Not clinically reviewed

61-year-old man for Elective laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. About 9 simulated minutes.

What you will practise

  • Reach an end-tidal preoxygenation endpoint before induction.
  • Act on the prior difficult-airway record before laryngoscopy begins.
  • Stop after the failed tracheal attempt rather than spending more oxygen reserve.
  • Move to a supraglottic airway to restore a route for oxygenation.
  • Explicitly deliver oxygen and confirm sustained gas exchange after rescue.

Review and sources

Not clinically reviewed. No clinician has signed this scenario.

  • 2022 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Management of the Difficult Airway. Anesthesiology 2022;136:31-81. PMID 34762729
  • Ahmad I, et al. Difficult Airway Society 2025 guidelines for management of unanticipated difficult tracheal intubation in adults. Br J Anaesth 2026;136:283-307. PMID 41203471

Every scenario in this module

Open Sim Lab is an educational simulator, not for clinical use. It is not a clinical decision-support tool, not a dosing calculator, and is not validated for any decision affecting a real patient.