Airway equipment setup

Difficult Airway Trolley Signage

DAS supports the use of explicit signage and content of Difficult Airway Trolley. As well as an exact inventory of trolley contents, we encourage clear, external labelling of drawer contents, ideally with pictorial representation with or without educational guidance to working through the DAS Difficult Intubation Algorithm 2015. Several versions of such drawer stickers are available below for use, either in their current form or following local editing.

Setting up a Difficult Airway Trolley (DAT)

The following is intended to be an aid to putting together a logically and comprehensively stocked DAT that is fit for purpose for the individual Trust within which it will be used.

The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI) in their Safety Guideline – Checking Anaesthetic Equipment 2012 states that “equipment for the management of the anticipated or unexpected difficult airway must be available and checked regularly in accordance with departmental policies.”1

Anaesthetic Emergency Signage

The difficult airway trolley contains critical equipment for the anaesthetist managing an airway emergency. The location, design and contents of the trolley are subject to local variation, which may introduce confusion for rotating, locum or non-anaesthetic staff looking for the trolley in a crisis.