Emergent surgical airway in head and neck conditions
Reviewed by Stuart Clark

This systematic review and meta-analysis looked at 1011 surgical airways in 14 studies. Of these airways, 50 were cricothyroidotomies. The mean complication rate was 16.8% with an airway-related mortality rate of 0.2%. They noted that the odds of complication significantly increased when airways were performed in locations other than the operating room, and the odds of successful decannulation were significantly increased in non-malignant tumour cases. The most significant preop symptom was dyspnoea. They advocate a targeted pathway to aid in the decision-making process for head and neck condition- related airway emergencies.

Emergent surgical airway for patients with head & neck conditions – system review and meta-analysis.
Wu S, Li KY, Su YX, Yang WF.
INT J ORAL MAXILLOFAC SURG
2026;55(4):408–16.