Simulation and airway management

Despite the development of new devices and strategies to manage and secure the difficult airway, morbidity and mortality in anaesthesia due to airway problems such as difficult intubation or unrecognised failed intubation remain high. The problem seems to lie in the transfer of skills and strategies to daily clinical practice. Common methods for airway management training include theoretical instructions and hands-on sessions with manikins, animal models and cadavers. Simulation provides the opportunity to train skills and resolve specific situations embedded in a realistic scenario, facilitate the transfer of cognitive, psychomotor and affective abilities into daily clinical practice and help to improve behaviour in critical situations. This article outlines new training concepts in airway management with the help of simulation and simulators. We describe technical prerequisites and provide information on the implementation of difficult airway scenarios.