The Airway Cam Guide to Intubation & Practical Airway Management

I had reservations about this book. Having viewed the Airway Cam video series multiple times, I wasn’t sure that any text could act as an adjunct to those impressive tapes. Happily, I was wrong. This book works well as a complement to the video series, as well as a stand-alone text.

The book begins with a practical four-step process to determine appropriate airway management. This process leads to a simple decision tree of available airways, both mechanical and surgical, finally presenting the indications and a simple strategy for rapid sequence intubation (RSI).

It’s important at this point to reiterate that this book speaks to all aspects of airway care, not simply to those currently available and, in many cases, outdated prehospital protocols. It may assist you in making a convincing argument for updating procedures and policies. Also, simply knowing that such techniques are available may allow you to alter transport decisions and modify your treatment for individual patients.

There is a significant amount of information on the pros and cons of rapid sequence intubation, with case studies accompanied by pictures and radiography to illustrate the decision-making process in each case. Specifically, the controversy of blind nasotracheal intubation vs. RSI in facial trauma is well-illustrated and extensively discussed.

The highlight of this book are the Airway Cam photos. Each step of intubation is illustrated by real-time visualization photos that allow for a clear view, as if you were looking down the blade yourself.

This is a serious book about airway control that is advanced beyond from any text I have seen. Although I don’t recommend many books as absolute “must-haves,” you owe it to yourself and your patients to put this book in that category. After 28 years, even this old dog learned some new tricks.

The Airway Cam Guide to Intubation & Practical Airway Management by Richard M. Levitan, MD. Airway Cam Technolo-gies, Inc., 2004. $59.95, www.airwaycam.com.